Why is hydrogen atomic spectrum a line spectrum?

1 Answer
Al E.
Jul 3, 2017

Continuous spectra are the entire visible electromagnetic radiation spectrum whereas line spectra are the characteristic wavelengths of radiation emitted as photons of each element.

Explanation:

![http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu](https://useruploads.socratic.org/9RpFEHKRHSt1gii51bvc_hydrogen.gif)

Each line on the spectrum is where H gas emits photons of electromagnetic radiation characteristic of the quantized energy levels of its electron orbitals.

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