Balmer Series
Measuring the Balmer Series
Background Reading
History
Feb 2020: Marked some bulbs as contaminated, but keep at least one to show what contamination looks like
Jan 2021: New sodium bulb purchased. Dr. Yi notes that it requires some time (~ 1 min) to heat up to see all lines, since it is in solid state at room temperature.
Feb 2021: Already see some blackened areas on inside of new sodium bulb, some faint contamination seen on spectrum
Feb 2021: Mis-seated or failing bulb caused damage to the lamp housing, melting plastic on one end. This also burnt out the mercury bulb. Switched to spare mercury bulb, need to replace.
March 2021: New lamp purchased, along with new mercury bulbs for calibration.
March 2021: Red mercury line is much more diffuse and dim, possibly due to alignment of prism
Notes
This experiment is light sensitive and is best set up in an area that can be darkened.
This experiment can be easily done by one student in one session. It may take two sessions if done with a partner.
Almost all the bulbs can only be on for 30 seconds, and then must be turned off for 30 seconds, to avoid damaging the bulb. There is an automatic outlet timer to make this easier.
The red line of mercury can be very dim or invisible depending on the alignment of the prism.
