Chapter 11: Introduction to Modern Atomic Theory

In this segment a photon excites an electron from the ground state to a higher energy level. Then a moment later a photon of energy is released and the electron falls back to the ground state.

In an atom, one photon excites one electron, from a level of low energy to a level of higher energy.

The electron can only move between particular energy levels. When the electron emits a photon we only see discrete lines in the emission spectrum. We do not see a continuous spectrum because the electron can only move between allowed energy levels and those levels have specific (discrete) energies.

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