The hydrogen spectral lines that lie in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum belong to the:
- Lyman series
- Paschen series
- Pfund series
- Balmer series
Show answer and solution
Correct answer: D. Balmer series
Balmer series corresponds to transitions terminating in $n_1 = 2$.
The first four lines ($n_2 = 3, 4, 5, 6$ to $n_1 = 2$) lie at approximately $656\,\text{nm}$ (H$_\alpha$, red), $486\,\text{nm}$ (H$_\beta$, blue-green), $434\,\text{nm}$ (H$_\gamma$, blue) and $410\,\text{nm}$ (H$_\delta$, violet), all in the visible range.