Wavenumber: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
imported>Pieter Kuiper mNo edit summary |
imported>David E. Volk m (subpages, remove cat's) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{subpages}} | |||
In spectroscopy, the '''wavenumber''' indicates the number of [[Electromagnetic spectrum|EM waves]] that would fit in a unit of length. The normal units for wavenumbers are inverse centimeters cm<sup>-1</sup>. A different name for this unit is kayser (after [[Heinrich Kayser]]). Light with a wavelength of 500 nm (green) has a wavenumber of 20,000 cm<sup>-1</sup> or 20 kK. Photon energy and frequency are proportional to wavenumber: 10 kK corresponds to 1.24 eV. | In spectroscopy, the '''wavenumber''' indicates the number of [[Electromagnetic spectrum|EM waves]] that would fit in a unit of length. The normal units for wavenumbers are inverse centimeters cm<sup>-1</sup>. A different name for this unit is kayser (after [[Heinrich Kayser]]). Light with a wavelength of 500 nm (green) has a wavenumber of 20,000 cm<sup>-1</sup> or 20 kK. Photon energy and frequency are proportional to wavenumber: 10 kK corresponds to 1.24 eV. | ||
| Line 8: | Line 9: | ||
v' [cm^{-1}] = \frac{1}{\lambda [cm]} = \frac{v [sec^{-1}]}{(c \frac{m}{sec}) (100 \frac{cm}{m})} | v' [cm^{-1}] = \frac{1}{\lambda [cm]} = \frac{v [sec^{-1}]}{(c \frac{m}{sec}) (100 \frac{cm}{m})} | ||
</math> | </math> | ||
Revision as of 14:40, 19 December 2007
In spectroscopy, the wavenumber indicates the number of EM waves that would fit in a unit of length. The normal units for wavenumbers are inverse centimeters cm-1. A different name for this unit is kayser (after Heinrich Kayser). Light with a wavelength of 500 nm (green) has a wavenumber of 20,000 cm-1 or 20 kK. Photon energy and frequency are proportional to wavenumber: 10 kK corresponds to 1.24 eV.
Historically, wavenumbers were introduced by Janne Rydberg in the 1880's in his analyses of atomic spectra.
Wavenumbers (), wavelength (), and frequency () are related:
![{\displaystyle v'[cm^{-1}]={\frac {1}{\lambda [cm]}}={\frac {v[sec^{-1}]}{(c{\frac {m}{sec}})(100{\frac {cm}{m}})}}}](https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/66ae33af168853adf99024dc155215428258ef11)