Emission spectra

The lighter has a small copper(?) impregnated glass bead near the gas outlet nozzle that is warmed to red heat in the flame. Atoms of the metal vaporize and are excited. The excited atoms decay, emitting a bright green light. The spectrum of a narrow slit is a series of well defined lines at particular wavelengths.

The atomic model has electron transitions from higher to lower energy orbitals emitting photons of energy hf.

> More