There is a stained glass window into the structure of the Atom. This window is the spectrum of colored lines given off when the atom is excited. Like the neon lights of Las Vegas, each atom glows with a characteristic set of colored lines. These colors are a reflection of the unique electron arrangement about each atom. Electrons have characteristic energies related to their position within the atom and it is these energies and related colors that allow us to understand the electronic structure of the atom. This exercise is intended to help you understand the energy levels in the hydrogen atom in a much shorter time than the 15 years that it took Johann Balmer.

We will try to duplicate Balmer's work by analyzing the experimental spectrum of the hydrogen atom. The top frame will always contain a set of links to each page in this tutorial. You can jump to these pages using these links or follow the links in each page. The tutorial works only with versions of Netscape 3 or larger. Also, the screens look the best if you first drag this window to be as large as your screen will accept.

Lets begin by looking at the total spectrum of the hydrogen atom, including lines in the ultraviolet and infrared regions that your eye can not see.

First spectrum