CURRICULUM | SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY | ENGINEERING | MATH
“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of, who do the things no one can imagine.” - Alan Turing
BLUE SKIES AND SPECTRA
HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT ELEMENTS ARE IN SPACE?
WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?
BASIC 3 TYPES OF SPECTRA
FOR YOUR NOTEBOOK:
Notes and Terms:
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: Raleigh Scattering - light comes into contact with particles/elements in the atmosphere that are smaller in diameter than the wavelength of the incoming radiation. Shorter wavelengths are more readily scattered that longer wavelengths.
Spectroscopy- any measurement of a wavelength or frequency of radiation. IT HELPS US KNOW WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF!
Spectrometer- instrument that separates the light into its component wavelengths and detects the spectrum.
Three Types of Spectra
Emission Spectra- show one or more bright lines or bands on a dark background (excited state → ground state)
Absorption Spectra- have a continuously bright background except for one or more dark lines (ground state → excited state)
Continuous Spectra- have a continuously bright background; all the wavelengths of visible light are present