104k views
1 vote
From laboratory measurements, we know that a particular spectral line formed by hydrogen appears at a wavelength of 486.1 nanometers (nm). The spectrum of a particular star shows the same hydrogen line appearing at a wavelength of 486.0 nm. What can we conclude?

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

The source of the hydrogen is coming towards us.

Step-by-step explanation:

The wavelength of the hydrogen is decreasing as it goes from 486.1 nm to 486.0 nm.

The wavelength of a wave is directly proportional to the distance between the observer and the object.

For example, when the observer is far from the source, the observer will observe a longer wavelength which corresponds to red color if it is in the visible region.

As the wavelength is decreasing that means that the hydrogen particle ( source may be a star) is coming towards the observer.

Thus, we can conclude that the source of the hydrogen is coming towards us.

User Firoz Ahmed
by
7.5k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.