H spectrum

[Katherine Grillo 1B]

What does it mean that the empirical equation En= -hr/n^2 only works for the H spectrum?

[mayra martinez 1D]

Well the reason the equation En= -hR/n^2 only works for the hydrogen atom is because for hydrogen z=1. For other one-electron ions (ex: He^+ or C^5+) with an atomic number z=# we use the equation En= (-z^2)HR/n^2. This is because the greater the value of the nuclear charge, the more tightly bound the electron is to the nucleus.

[Chris Freking 2G]

The Rydberg equation does not take into account electron-electron repulsion, which is why it's okay to use for Hydrogen and H-spectrum (only one electron to worry about). It will not work for atoms with multiple electrons because of electron-electron repulsion.

[Beatrice Petelo 1F]

The empirical formula does not work for atoms other than hydrogen and multi-electron atoms. For multi-electron atoms, we would use the other formula (the one with Zeff) because of electron shielding and repulsion caused by multiple electrons.