Luminescence AT O M I C ST RUCT URE

1Luminescence
G Luminescencei sthe emi ssi on of li ght
caused by an effect other than heat.
G Lumi nescence occurswhen a
substance i ssti mulated by radi ati on
and subsequently emi tsvi si ble li ght.
G The i nci dent radi ati on exci tes
electrons, and asthe electronsreturn
to thei r ground state, they emi t vi si ble
li ght.
G I f the electronsremai n i n thei r exci ted
state and emi t li ght over a peri od of
ti me, the phenomenon i scalled
phosphorescence.
G I f the electronsi n a substance return
to the ground state i mmedi ately after
exci tati on, the phenomenon i scalled
fluorescence.
2 Fluorescence
G I n thi sdi agram, a fluorescent li ght
tube contai nsmercury vapor at low
pressure. Electronsare released from
hot fi lamentsat each end of the tube
and colli de wi th the mercury atoms,
exci ti ng the electronsi n the mercury
atomsto hi gher energy levels. Asthe
electronsfall back to lower energy
states, photonsof ultravi olet li ght are
emi tted.
G The ultravi olet photonscolli de wi th
atomsof a fluorescent coati ng on the
i nsi de of the tube. The electronsi n
these atomsare exci ted and then
return to lower energy levels, emi tti ng
vi si ble li ght.
fluorescence
luminescence
phosphorescence
Key words
24

D
i
a
g
r
a
m
V
i
s
u
a
l
I
n
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n
L
t
d
.
1Luminescence
2 Fluorescence
E
3
E
2
E
1
E
n
e
r
g
y

E
)
P h o to n
P h o to n
S e co n d
e xc i te d
sta te
F i rst
e xc i te d
sta te
G ro u n d
sta te
E le c tro n
a b so rb s
p h o to n
E le c tro n
e m i ts
p h o to n
n = 3
n = 2
n = 1
e

u ltra v i o le t
p h o to n s
a re e m i tte d
v i si b le li g h t
fi la m e n t fi la m e n t
m e rc u ry
a to m s
flu o re sce n t
co a ti n g
E n e rg y
le ve ls