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Experiment 9
Emission Spectra
9.1 Objectives
By the end of this experiment, you will be able to:
- measure the emission spectrum of a source of light using the digital spectrometer.
- find the wavelength of a peak of intensity and its uncertainty.
- compare and contrast the spectra of various light sources.
- understand that a single color can be made of many wavelengths.
9.2 Introduction
We see very differently than we hear. With sound, we are able to pick out many different frequencies, i.e. different pitches. For example, if we listen to music, we can pick out the drums and voice separately, even though they are happening at the same time. We don’t have that capability with light. Instead, we end up seeing one individual color, which most likely is made up of many different wavelengths of light. The electromagnetic spectrum, shown in Fig. 9.1, covers a huge range of wavelengths, from gamma rays at 10−^14 m to AM radio waves at 10^4 m. In this lab we are going to be concerned with the narrow band of wavelengths, ∼ 400 − 750 nm (a nm = 10−^9 m), that make up visible light. In order to
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- Emission Spectra
Figure 9.1: The electromagnetic spectrum with the visible light region blown up.
know very accurately what wavelengths are being emitted by a source of light, we will use a digital spectrometer.
9.3 Key Concepts
As always, you can find a summary online at Hyperphysics^1. Look for keywords: “emission, quantum”, electromagnetic spectrum, spectrometer.
9.4 Theory
In last week’s lab you saw evidence of light behaving as a wave. In this lab we will explore light acting as a particle, called a photon. Sunlight and incandescent light (such as from a lightbulb) are sometimes called “white” light as they are made up of many wavelengths of light (all the colors mixed together make white). If you shine white light through a prism it spreads the light out into a rainbow because different wavelengths of light have slightly different indexes of refraction, called dispersion. If you heat up a gaseous element, such as hydrogen, until it glows and send that
(^1) http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hph.html
- Emission Spectra
Figure 9.3: Model of an atom showing absorption and emission of photons.
The periodic table of the elements is also explained by the atomic model, where every element is uniquely identified by the number of protons in its nucleus. Quantum mechanics explains the energy states of the electrons in an atom. Every element in the periodic table has a distinct set of electron energy levels, so for a given element only photons of specific energies can be emitted. Therefore, when you are measuring the emission spectrum of an element, only certain wavelengths of light are allowed and the “pattern” that is produced is unique for that substance. Notice the differences in the emission spectra for hydrogen (H), helium (He) and mercury (Hg), that are shown in Fig. 9.4. The energy of an emitted photon and its wavelength are related. For example, the color of a laser pointer (e.g. red or green) is determined by the energy of the emitted light. The energy of a photon is described by the equation:
E =
hc λ
where λ is the wavelength in meters, h is the Planck constant (h ≈ 6. 63 × 10 −^34 J s), and c is the speed of light (c ≈ 3. 00 × 108 m/s). When dealing with visible light, wavelengths are usually given in nanometers (nm) so it
9.5. In today’s lab
Figure 9.4: Emission spectra for hydrogen, helium and mercury.
is convenient to convert the quantity hc into units of electron volts (eV)^2 and nm. Equation 9.1 can now be written as:
E =
hc λ
1240 eV nm λ
where λ is the wavelength in nm and the energy of the photon is in eV.
9.5 In today’s lab
Today we’ll be investigating the spectrum of light that is emitted from various sources. In the past we used a setup similar to what is shown in Figure 9.5 where you viewed the spectral lines through a prism. Now digital spectrometers (as shown in Fig. 9.8) are readily available. You will use one to make precise measurements of the intensity of the different wavelengths of emitted light for a given source. In order for you to be able see with your eyes what the digital spectrometer “sees” you will first look at each source through a diffraction grating.
(^2) An electron volt (eV) is the amount of energy it takes to move an electron through one volt of potential so 1 eV = U = qV = (1. 6 × 10 −^19 C)(1 V) = 1. 6 × 10 −^19 J.
9.6. Equipment
Diffraction grating
Like a prism, a diffraction grating^3 spreads out incoming light into a spectrum. Instead of using dispersion to spread out the light, a diffraction grating bends smaller wavelengths more than it bends larger wavelengths. A picture of the diffraction grating you will be using is shown in Fig. 9.6. The digital spectrometer you will be using also uses a diffraction grating, instead of a prism, to spread out the light. A schematic of how a digital spectrometer works is shown in Fig. 9.7.
9.6 Equipment
- Diffraction grating (see Fig. 9.6)
- Digital spectrometer with optical fiber (Ocean Optics USB650 Red Tide) (see Fig. 9.8)
- Logger Pro software
- Diode laser (see Fig. 9.9)
- Gas discharge tubes (see Fig. 9.5a)
Safety Tips
- Gas discharge tubes get very hot. Be very careful to let them cool down before touching them.
- The laser is a device that can produce an intense, narrow beam of light at one wavelength. NEVER look directly into the laser beam or its reflection from a mirror, glass, watch surface, jewelry, etc.
(^3) Remember the previous lab on diffraction and interference of light, well a diffraction
grating is like a double-slit but with thousands of slits.
- Emission Spectra
Figure 9.8: The digital spectrometer with a white USB cable and blue optical fiber plugged in.
9.7 Procedure
Setup
- Connect the SpectroVis Plus spectrometer to the USB port of a com- puter. The white cable in Fig. 9.8 is the USB cable. Start the Logger Pro data collection program, and then choose New from the File menu.
- Connect a SpectroVis Optical Fiber (the blue cable being held in Fig. 9.8) to the cuvette holder of the spectrometer (which is located on its bottom).
- To prepare the spectrometer for measuring light emissions do the fol- lowing in Logger Pro: Open the Experiment menu and select Change Units I Spectrometer:1 I Intensity.
- To set an appropriate sampling time for collecting your emission data, in Logger Pro: open the Experiment menu and choose SetUp Sensors I Spectrometer:1. In the small dialog box that appears, change the Sample Time to 60 ms, change the Wavelength Smoothing to 0, and change the Samples to Average to 1.
- Emission Spectra
Data Collection and Analysis
Do the following steps for each light source (5 in total) after you’ve set it up:
- Observe the light source through the diffraction grating. You may need to hold the grating at an angle to observe the interference pattern. This is the same method that the digital spectrometer uses to separate out the different wavelengths. (For the laser: Do not look directly into the laser. Instead, shine the laser on a piece of white paper and observe the spot on the paper.)
- Record your observations in the data table at the beginning of the Questions. Mention how many spectral lines and of what color you can see. Indicate which lines are the brightest and any unique features of the spectrum, especially noting what makes each source’s spectrum different from the others.
- Start data collection on the Logger Pro software. An emission spectrum will be graphed.
- When you achieve a satisfactory graph, stop data collection. An example of an emission graph for helium is shown in Fig. 9.10. If the highest peak in the emission spectrum is > 1, then the sensor is saturated and needs to receive less light. Try moving the optical fiber away from or towards the light source, or point it slightly off-center, until the highest peak is ≤ 1. If this doesn’t help, stop data collection and increase or decrease the Sample Time as described in Step 4 of the Setup section.
- Write down your observations of the emission spectrum in the data table at the beginning of the Questions. Specifically, identify the 3 tallest peaks (except for the laser where there will only be 1 peak) including their wavelengths (no uncertainty needed here) and describe the range over which the peaks happen. Be sure to emphasize the features of each spectrum that distinguishes it from the other light sources that you tested.
- Print out a copy of the graph. For the laser, zoom in on the peak so the x-axis only covers a range of 40-50 nm centered on the peak
9.7. Procedure
Figure 9.10: An example of an Helium emission spectrum, similar to what you will see on the computer screen.
(see Fig. 9.11). For the other sources, show the full visible spectrum ( 350–800 nm).
- Find the wavelength and intensity of the highest peak for the laser and the 2 gas discharge tubes (helium and mercury). The highest peak corresponds to the most intense light. Label your graph (by hand) with the peak’s wavelength and relative intensity as shown in Fig. 9.11. You can find these values by placing the cursor on the peak and the coordinates will be shown just below the lower left corner of the plotting area or you can use the Examine button in the Logger Pro menu.
- To find the uncertainty in the wavelength, you will use the “half width at half maximum” (HWHM) of the peak. To find HWHM, do the following:
a) Find the two points on either side of the peak where the inten- sity is half of the peak intensity and label them with their wave- lengths λ and relative intensities, Int (rel), as shown in Fig. 9.11.
9.8. Questions
9.8 Questions
Light Source Describe peaks or unique features of the spectrum grating:
laser spectrometer:
grating:
helium gas spectrometer:
grating:
mercury gas spectrometer:
grating:
overhead light spectrometer:
grating:
reflected light spectrometer:
- Emission Spectra
- What color light does your laser emit? Does that color (roughly) correspond to the peak wavelength you measured for your laser? (Fig. 9.1 shows the relationship between visible colors and approximate wavelengths.)
- Compare your measurement of the wavelength of the laser light with the manufacturer’s value given to you by your instructor.
- Emission Spectra
- When you looked at the mercury gas with the diffraction grating which spectral line (or lines) appeared the brightest? Did the lines you saw with the diffraction grating (roughly) correspond to the highest intensity peaks of the emission spectrum from the digital spectrometer? Did the digital spectrometer “see” more lines than you?
- Compare the most intense wavelength of the mercury spectrum to the the- oretical value of 546. 1 ± 0 .05 nm.
9.8. Questions
- Look at the overhead lighting (without a diffraction grating) and describe what color you see. Be as specific as you can. (For example, do the overhead lights look white, maybe bluish or a hint of yellow?)
- Compare the emission spectrum of the overhead lights with the spectra from helium and mercury. Do you think the lights contain either gas? (Hint: Do any of the peaks in the overhead lights match up with peaks in mercury or helium? How many of the mercury peaks are found in the overhead lighting?)
