Open AccessThe spectrum of ionised potassium
Author(s) -
John Cunningham McLennan
Publication year - 1921
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1921.0079
Subject(s) - spectrum (functional analysis) , potassium , spark discharge , arc (geometry) , spark (programming language) , vibrational spectrum , electromagnetic spectrum , atomic physics , chemistry , optics , materials science , physics , mathematics , geometry , computer science , quantum mechanics , electrode , metallurgy , programming language , raman spectroscopy
In 1904 Eder and Valenta found that potassium, under the excitation of a sharp spark discharge, could be made to emit, in addition to the ordinary arc series spectrum, a new one, which was rich in wave-lengths and which extended into the ultra-violet. In 1907, Goldstein found this spectrum could, when special experimental arrangements were adopted, be obtained pure and unmixed with any of the wave-lengths of the arc spectrum. To it he gave the name the “ground spectrum” of potassium. In his paper Goldstein gives the values of the wave-lengths of a few of the constituents of this spectrum, but as the discharge tubes used by him were made of glass, his list of wave-lengths did not extend beyond the visible.