Spectrum of the hydrogen atom
Measure a part of the hydrogen atom spectrum and distinguish it from the spectrum of deuterium.
Experimental setup
Figure 1 is a photograph of the setup that will be used in this experiment. The schematics of the setup are shown in Figure 2.
The hydrogen/deuterium atoms are produced and excited by electrical discharge in hydrogen/deuterium lamp. The excited atoms emit radiation while relaxing to lower energetic states. The emitted radiation enters the monochromator through the entrance slit and is dispersed by the grating. Each position of the grating corresponds to radiation of particular wavelength focused on the exit slit. The dispersed light is detected by a photomultiplier connected to high voltage power supply and located on the exit slit of the monochromator. The signal is amplified by the photomultiplier and monitored by the PC as a function of the wavelength. The plot of signal amplitude versus the wavelength is the spectrum of interest. The PC also controls the grating position.