Question

Viewed through a spectroscope, the spectral profile of a yellow street lamp has a narrow line in the yellow region of the visible spectrum against a black background. Is the street lamp an incandescent or an atomic source of light

Answer 1

Answer:

discrete lines are observed by the spectroscope, the emission of the lamp is of the ATOMIC source

Explanation:

Bulbs can emit light in several ways:

* When the emission is carried out by the heating of its filament, the bulb is called incandescent, in general its spectrum is similar to that of a black body, this is a continuous spectrum with a maximum dependent on the fourth power of the temperature of the filament.

* The emission can be by atomic transitions, in this case there is a discrete spectrum formed by the spectral lines of the material that forms the gas of the lamp, in general for the yellow emission the most used materials are mercury and sodium or a mixture of they.

Consequently, as discrete lines are observed by the spectroscope, the emission of the lamp is of the ATOMIC type