Construct · 1 fields · 4 citations

Rydberg constant: a standalone construct

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Rydbergconstant1 CONSTRUCTRydberg constantRYDBERG · SPECTRAL SCALE

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Physics (atomic spectroscopy)

The physical constant setting the scale of atomic spectral-line wavelengths

Johannes Rydberg, working from spectral data he presented in 1888 and published in 1890, introduced the constant that now carries his name to express the wavelengths of the bright and dark lines in an element's light spectrum as one formula, generalizing the pattern Johann Balmer had found for hydrogen in 1885. The Rydberg constant, written R with the subscript infinity (R∞), is the fixed number that sets the scale of those spectral lines: in Rydberg's formula the reciprocal of a line's wavelength equals R∞ times the difference of two terms, each of which is one divided by the square of a whole number that labels an electron's energy level. Niels Bohr's 1913 model of the atom derived this constant from more basic quantities, the electron's mass and charge, Planck's constant, and the speed of light, turning an empirical fitting number into a predicted combination of other fundamental constants. Today R∞ is among the most precisely known physical constants, its value fixed by international agreement (the CODATA adjustment) to about a dozen significant figures, which is why the atomic spectra it governs serve as a benchmark test of physical theory. It ties together the observed colors of light emitted by atoms, the ladder of energy levels inside them, and the fundamental constants from which it is built, and it is kept distinct from the related terms Rydberg formula (the equation) and Rydberg atom (a highly excited atom).[1][2][3][4]

Unit
A fixed physical constant with dimensions of inverse length, expressed in reciprocal metres (per metre)
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Determined from precision spectroscopy of hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms and fixed by an international least-squares adjustment of the fundamental constants (CODATA)

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Nearby constructs

constant2 fields · 2 citationsjingle · one word, two constructsspectrum4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsquantum4 fields · 7 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Rydberg, J. R. (1890). On the structure of the line-spectra of the chemical elements. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 29(179), 331–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786449008619945
  2. Balmer, J. J. (1885). Notiz über die Spectrallinien des Wasserstoffs. Annalen der Physik, 261(5), 80–87. https://doi.org/10.1002/andp.18852610506
  3. Bohr, N. (1913). On the constitution of atoms and molecules. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 26(151), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786441308634955
  4. Tiesinga, E., Mohr, P. J., Newell, D. B., & Taylor, B. N. (2021). CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 2018. Reviews of Modern Physics, 93(2), 025010. https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.93.025010

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