Lyman series

As Lyman series (after Theodore Lyman, who discovered them in 1906), the sequence of spectral lines of the hydrogen atom is referred to in the ultraviolet range between about 91 and about 121 nm; all transitions have the lower energy level in the K shell together ( principal quantum number ).

Further series are the Balmer series ( cf. also there), the Paschen series, Brackett series and the pound series.

Mathematical Description

The shaft speeds of the individual spectral lines are given by the Rydberg formula

In which

• Rydberg constant, and
• N are integers greater than 1 ( principal quantum numbers of the shells start ).

The wave number can be explained by the relationship

In the wavelength or by

In the corresponding energy convert with

• C the speed of light in vacuum
• H the Planck's constant.

Applications

The Lyman series lines are of particular interest to astronomers in the study of stars and galaxies. From the Lyman - α line, both the redshift of distant galaxies and quasars (sometimes to the visible or infrared spectral range ) and the wide distribution of hydrogen in the universe can be derived (see Lyman -break technique). From Earth, the Lyman lines can be observed due to the UV absorption of the Earth's atmosphere only at sufficiently high redshift objects.