Diagram Note: Hydrogen Spectral Series (SVG)

type: $diagram_{note}$ | subtopic: Spectral Series

Hydrogen Spectral Series Energy (eV) n=1 n=2 n=3 n=4 n=5 n=∞ Lyman UV Balmer Vis Paschen IR Brackett far IR

Key takeaway: Each spectral series has a lower level $n_{1}$ . Transitions of electron falling from higher $n_{2}$ down to $n_{1}$ emit photons. The energy (and thus wavelength) of the photon depends on the energy gap between levels.

Series Wavelength Ranges:

Series	Lower Level	Region	First Line (λ, nm)	Series Limit (λ, nm)
Lyman	n=1	UV	121.6	91.2
Balmer	n=2	Visible	656.3 (H-α, red)	364.6
Paschen	n=3	IR	1875	820.4
Brackett	n=4	Far IR	4051	1458