Science Common Sense

1482 - What is atomic spectrum.

An atomic spectrum is like a fingerprint of a particular element. It's the pattern of colors that an element makes when it releases or absorbs energy.

Imagine you're holding a light through a prism. You'll see a rainbow of colors, right? But if you're holding a special gas, like hydrogen, through that prism, you'll see only certain specific colors, not a full rainbow. These specific colors are like a special code that tells you what element that gas is.

That's basically what an atomic spectrum is – a unique pattern of colors that helps us figure out what an element is.