We present a spreadsheet that introduces undergraduate students to the analysis of helium atomic spectrum data.
REFERENCES
1.
R. L.
Liboff
, Introductory Quantum Mechanics
, 3rd ed. (Addison-Wesley
, Reading, MA
, 1998
).2.
M. C.
Lo Presto
, “A closer look at the spectrum of helium
,” Phys. Teach.
36
, 172
–173
(1998
).3.
We use the Ocean Optics HR4000 spectrometer.
4.
We use a standard source provided by the HR4000 spectrometer. Alternatively, we could use the accepted values of the Balmer lines of hydrogen to calibrate the spectrometer.
5.
The NIST Atomic Spectra Data website is ⟨physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/ASD/lines-form.html⟩.
6.
© 2009 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2009
American Association of Physics Teachers
AAPT members receive access to the American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher as a member benefit. To learn more about this member benefit and becoming an AAPT member, visit the Joining AAPT page.
