ASTRO 001H Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Zeeman Effect, Escape Velocity, Radius
Document Summary
# of electrons = the # of protons. Quantum mechanics shows that the energy of the electrons are quantized. (they can only have fixed energies. ) Energy levels for electrons in atoms are restricted. If a photon enters the atom with an energy = to the energy difference between 2 orbits, the electron absorbs the photon and jumps to a higher orbit. The electron is now in it"s excited state . It only stays in this unnatural state for a very short time less than a second then decays back releasing a photon as em radiation. The radiation can be given off in any direction and it"s frequency is proportional to the difference in orbital energies. Atoms can be excited by high temps too! The spacing of the allowed energy levels for different atoms are different and unique to the atom.
