Helium has an emission line at 587.6 nm. What is the frequency of this line?

1 Answer
Jul 27, 2017

#nu approx 5.10*10^14 s^-1#

Explanation:

The units given are the wavelength of the photon emitted as a result of the electron within a #He# atom going back to its ground state.

Recall,

#c = lambda*nu#

#therefore c/(lambda) = nu#

Let's do some math:

#587.6nm *(10^-9m)/(nm) = 5.876*10^-7 m#

#(2.998*10^8m*s^-1)/(5.876*10^-7 m) approx 5.10*10^14 s^-1 = nu#