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Chapter 11: Introduction to Modern Atomic Theory
On the 4th of July the fireworks that are explodes we
are always excited about the beautiful colors the
fireworks produce. The colors are produced by metal
atoms.
When scientist's in the early 1900's looked at the
light given off by these metals they discovered an
interesting characteristic of the light spectrum. The
light emitted was limited to only particular wavelengths.
Scientists also investigated the light given off by
excited hydrogen atoms. The light given off by excited
hydrogen atoms was not a continuous spectrum but a
discrete, line spectrum. That is, the light given off by
hydrogen atoms only contained a few lines! Scientist's
concluded from this observation that only certain
energies could be released from a hydrogen atom.
What is going on? How can this happen?
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