Do the electrons in an ion of nitrogen (such as N+ or N+2) have exactly the same permitted energy levels the electrons in a neutral nitrogen atom, and therefore, same absorption and emission lines?
This was first noticed in airborne atomic tests, it was observed at the Chernobyl reactor failure by one resident physicist (who survived by running away), and it has been observed in lattice studies with laser excitation. It is not unique to Nitrogen, the effect of excited yttrium is of special interest.
Now back to nitrogen: Neutral nitrogen radiates primarily at one line in red part of the spectrum. Ionized nitrogen radiates primarily as a set of lines in blue part of the spectrum.[ All about lightning by Martin A. Uman, p. 96, Courier Dover Publications, 1986 ISBN 0-486-25237-X] The strongest signals are the 443.3, 444.7, and 463.0 nm lines of singly ionized nitrogen.
Thank you very much for your help with this question Bob!
To determine whether the electrons in an ion of nitrogen have the same permitted energy levels as the electrons in a neutral nitrogen atom, we need to understand the concept of electronic structure and energy levels.
In a neutral nitrogen atom, the electrons occupy specific energy levels or orbitals, which are quantized. The electronic structure of neutral nitrogen is often represented as 1s² 2s² 2p³. This means that the nitrogen atom has two electrons in the 1s orbital, two in the 2s orbital, and three in the 2p orbital.
When an atom loses or gains electrons to form an ion, its electronic structure changes. In the case of a nitrogen ion, such as N+ or N+2, some or all of its electrons have been removed, resulting in a different electronic configuration.
For N+, one electron is removed from the neutral nitrogen atom, leaving behind 1s² 2s² 2p². This means that one electron from the 2p orbital is removed.
For N+2, two electrons are removed, resulting in an electronic configuration of 1s² 2s² 2p¹. In this case, two electrons from the 2p orbital are removed.
Since the electron configuration changes in both cases, the permitted energy levels for the electrons in the nitrogen ions will also be different compared to the neutral nitrogen atom.
Therefore, the absorption and emission lines for the nitrogen ions will be different from those of the neutral nitrogen atom. The energy levels and transitions will correspond to the electronic configuration of the ion, resulting in distinct absorption and emission spectra.
To summarize, the electrons in an ion of nitrogen, such as N+ or N+2, do not have the same permitted energy levels as the electrons in a neutral nitrogen atom. Consequently, the absorption and emission lines for the ions will be distinct from those of the neutral nitrogen atom.