Question

When an electron in an atom makes a transition between two energy levels,E_high and E_lpw, a photon is emitted. If the photon is in the red portion ofthe visible light spectrum, what is its wavelength' and what is the energy difference between E_high and E_low? (A figure in almost any physics text showing the spectrum of colors might be helpful. A useful web site is "What Wavelength Goes with a Color?" What are the wavelength and the energy difference for a blue photon? Obviously what we mean by "red" is a range of colors. Here you are to estimate the average wavelength.

Answer 1

The wavelength for a red photon is around 700 nm corresponding to energy of about 1.77 eV, while a blue photon has a shorter wavelength around 475 nm and energy of approximately 2.61 eV. These values represent the energy differences between E_high and E_low when photons are emitted.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an electron transitions between two energy levels, E_high and E_low, in an atom, a photon is emitted. For a photon in the red portion of the visible light spectrum, the wavelength typically ranges around 700 nm, which corresponds to an energy of about 1.77 eV (using the equation E = hc/λ where h is Planck's constant, c is the speed of light, and λ is the wavelength). For a photon in the blue portion of the spectrum, with a shorter wavelength around 475 nm, the energy is higher, approximately 2.61 eV.

The energy difference between E_high and E_low for the red photon is approximately 1.77 eV and for the blue photon, it is approximately 2.61 eV. Electromagnetic radiation can be discussed in terms of waves with associated frequencies and wavelengths, or as streams of photons, with energies dependent on those frequencies, according to the quantum theory of light.