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Quanta to Quarks, Rydberg Equation, Energy Levels, radii, spectral lines.... gah! (1 Viewer)

SophxMusic

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Hey guys, so I have a few questions.
I understand the Rydberg Equation and I get that there are derivations of it that let you calculate the radius of higher energy level orbits, but my question is, will they ever ask for that derivation or ask questions that need you to find it? i.e. the radius of a ground state orbit in an atom is ....... , so find the radius of the 3rd energy level orbit etc.
Secondly, what the hell do they mean when they talk about the 'first' or 'second' spectral lines in a series?
I get that in the Balmer series, nf = 2, and I know similar things for the Lyman series etc. but what I don't understand is the wording of the question?
Would it be like, "Find the wavelength of the first two spectral lines of the Balmer Series...."
So nf would be equal to 2, but for the two lines would it be ni=3 and ni=4? because there are different ways to get from ni=4 to nf=2, if you get what I mean? like you could go 4,3,2 or you could go directly... please help?
The maths isn't an issue for me, it is the wording of the questions. Thanks guise.
 

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