Hydrogen line

The hydrogen line, 21 centimetre line or HI line refers to the electromagnetic radiation spectral line that is created by a change in the energy state of neutral hydrogen atoms. This electromagnetic radiation is at the precise frequency of 1420.405751786 MHz, which is equivalent to the vacuum wavelength of 21.10611405413 cm in free space. This wavelength falls within the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and it is observed frequently in radio astronomy, since those radio waves can penetrate the large clouds of interstellar cosmic dust that are opaque to visible light.

The microwaves of the hydrogen line come from the atomic transition of an electron between the two hyperfine levels of the hydrogen 1s ground state that have an energy difference of 5.87433 µeV. The frequency, ν, of the quanta that are emitted by this transition between two different energy levels is given by the Planck-Einstein relation The constant of proportionality, h, is known as the Planck constant.