Question

Light from a fluorescent lamp is observed through a cloud of cool nitrogen gas. Again, two students are having a discussion about the kind of spectra that they would see.
Student 1: We would see absorption line spectra and the missing lines would correspond to the light from the fluorescent lamp.
Student 2: I disagree. We would see an emission line spectrum corresponding to nitrogen. This would happen because the nitrogen gas would absorb some energy from the fluorescent lamp and would reemit this energy which would result in an emission line spectrum.
Which student, if any, do you agree with and why?

Answer 1

Answer:

From the previous explanation Student No. 1 has the correct explanation

Explanation:

When the fluorescent lamp emits a light it has the shape of its emission spectrum, this light collides with the atoms of Nitrogen and excites it, so these wavelengths disappear, lacking in the spectrum seen by the observed, for which we would see an absorption spectrum

The nitrogen that was exited after a short time is given away in its emission lines, in general there are many lines, so the excitation energy is divided between the different emission lines, which must be weak

From the previous explanation Student No. 1 has the correct explanation