Re: Energy level diagrams

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

More than it --  I just needed the meaning of principle, i.e. higher
intensity (brighter), except I don't understand how fundamental means
isolated.

Is it simply selection rules that make p lines brighter (not violated)?

bc, endangered by a little knowledge

Brian Whatcott wrote:

> At 07:36 PM 6/5/2004, BC, you wrote:
>
>
> > I'm still waiting for p and f.  I Googled for about 10' and then gave
> > up.  Anyone else know?
> >
> > bc
> >
> >
> >
> > > s,p,d,f stand for sharp, principal, diffuse, fundamental.
> > > The names (and abbreviations) come from the earliest work
> > > in spectroscopy -- any effort to sort out the various
> > > spectral lines, long before there was any understanding
> > > of atomic structure.
> > >
> > >  http://www.google.com/search?q=3Dsharp+principal+diffuse=20
> > >  http://w3.msi.vxu.se/~pku/Rydberg/LifeWork.html
>
>
> Hmmm, in your note you quote the explanation (above)
> that p stands for principal and f for fundamental, from the appearance
> of the spectral lines in the spectroscope. So I have to suppose that
>  your continued puzzlement might be resolved if someone were
> able to answer a question in this form:
>
> "What atomic mechanisms determine the relative intensities of certain
> lines which are bright enough to be called 'principal"?
>
> And what features are said to be responsible for the absence of
>  emissions at nearby frequencies to that of a line feature in the
> spectrometer which attracts the descriptor "fundamental". "
>
> Is that it?
>
>
>
> Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!