1. continuous
2. excited state
3. emission
4. line
5. excitation
6. quantum
7. ground state
When electromagnetic radiation interacts with atoms, energy is absorbed through the electrons. The energetic electrons exhibit
and move from the normal low energy level, or , to a higher energy level called the . The energetic electrons do not have enough energy to stay in the higher energy level permanently. As the
electrons move from the higher energy level to the lower energy level, they release energy and occurs. Energy is
released only in specific amounts. The available transitions for each element results in a signature
spectra rather than a spectra.