Physics 204 GH2

Lab 7
Spectroscopy

Introduction
The following lab will introduce students to optical spectroscopy. Spectroscopy is the

process of obtaining a spectrum from a physical process, or from a signal. The lab will consist of

students obtaining a spectrum from a light source using a spectrometer and Ocean View

application. Using these instruments will help those understand the relationship between

wavelength, frequency, and color of an element. Ultimately, the use of the spectrometer is used in

various fields of science such as medicine, interior design, and engineering.

Procedure
- Before beginning the experiments for the following lab, the following exercise will help

you become familiar with the lab equipment. Start by placing the lamp in a position that

will allow the end of the fiber optic collector to be directly in front of the little hole of the

lamp. Flick the switch to turn on the lamp and a blue glow should be seen from the hole.

Start the Ocean View application and choose a quick view, if it is set up correctly then

you will see a spectrum on the screen. Copy this data into Excel and make an x-y scatter

plot of the two columns to create a spectrum in Excel of the spectrum from the Mercury

Vapor lamp

- Experiment 1: Begin by putting the He discharge tube in the tube holder/power supply.

Next set up the spectrometer and cable to measure the light from the tube. Have the

power supply turned on and make sure the tube is glowing. Try to get a good spectrum

and adjust the collector if needed. Press the pause button to gather all the data and turn

off the power of the tube. Copy the spectrum data and create an x-y scatter plot of the two

columns. Keep in mind that the gas discharge tube should only be left on for about 30

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 seconds.

- Experiment 2: Now change the He discharge tube and replace it with the hydrogen gas

tube. Repeat the same steps of experiment 1 but using the hydrogen gas tube and record

your data as well as create a plot for that data.

Data/ Calculation/ Question *Graphs are attached to this report*

Make a nice plot of the Helium emission spectrum.

Identify the main peaks (4-6 different ones) of the Helium emission spectrum.
The main peaks of the Helium emission spectrum are (390, 987.67), (502, -184.55), (588,

16079.07), ( 670, 3410.85), and ( 708, 12321.67).

The wavelength of the Largest Peak (experiment 1) = 588 nm

Include a graph of the Hydrogen Spectrum in your report. Solve the Balmer series
equation for up to n = 6.
1 1 1
=R( 2 − 2 )
λ 2 n
1 1 1
N1: =(1.097 × 10 7)( 2 − 2 ) ⇒ λ 1=−1.215 ×1 0−7 m
λ 2 1
1 7 1 1
N2: =(1.097 × 10 )( 2 − 2 ) ⇒ λ 2=undefined
λ 2 2
1 7 1 1
N3: =(1.097 × 10 )( 2 − 2 ) ⇒ λ 3=6.563 ×1 0−7 m
λ 2 3
1 7 1 1
N4: =(1.097 × 10 )( 2 − 2 ) ⇒ λ 4 =4.862 ×1 0−7 m
λ 2 4
1 7 1 1
N5: =(1.097 × 10 )( 2 − 2 ) ⇒ λ 5=4.341×1 0−7 m
λ 2 5
1 7 1 1
N6: =(1.097 × 10 )( 2 − 2 ) ⇒ λ 6=4.102× 10−7 m
λ 2 6
3 to 2 transition wavelength = 6.563 ×1 0−7 m
Identify the prominent peaks in your graph and confirm that your recorded spectrum
matches the expected wavelengths for the Balmer Series.
The prominent peaks in the graph are at ( 488, -297.87), and at ( 658, 59528.7). The

recorded spectrum matches the expected wavelengths of the Balmer series calculated. The

wavelength for n=3 is 6.563 ×1 0−7 m when converted to nm it is 656.335 nm. Ultimately this

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 value is close to one of the peaks seen in the graph at a wavelength of 658 nm. Likewise, the

wavelength calculated for n=4 is 4.862 ×1 0−7 m which is converted into 486.17 nm.

Consequently, this wavelength is close to one of the peaks seen at 488 nm in the graph Hydrogen

Intensity Peaks vs Wavelength. Ultimately, the peaks in the graph confirm that the recorded

spectrum matches the expected wavelengths for the Balmer Series.

Conclusion

The results obtained from the lab did meet all expectations of understanding the

relationship between wavelength, frequency, and color of an element. By using the data

collection tool Ocean View, a spectrum was observed for Mercury, Helium, and Hydrogen. This

spectrum allowed students to create an x-y plot of the intensity counts versus the wavelength of

the spectrum. Ultimately, when calculating the expected peaks for hydrogen it was noticed that it

did mee with the peaks observed in the spectrum. Nonetheless, this was a perfect demonstration

to show the relationship between fundamental physics concepts.

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