A Grotrian diagram, or term diagram, shows the allowed

electronic transition A quantum jump is the abrupt transition of a quantum system (atom, molecule, atomic nucleus) from one quantum state to another, from one energy level to another. When the system absorbs energy, there is a transition to a higher energy level (ex ...

s between the

energy level A quantum mechanical system or particle that is bound—that is, confined spatially—can only take on certain discrete values of energy, called energy levels. This contrasts with classical particles, which can have any amount of energy. The t ...

s of atoms. They can be used for one-electron and multi-electron atoms. They take into account the specific

selection rules In physics and chemistry, a selection rule, or transition rule, formally constrains the possible transitions of a system from one quantum state to another. Selection rules have been derived for electromagnetic transitions in molecules, in atoms, i ...

related to changes in

angular momentum In physics, angular momentum (rarely, moment of momentum or rotational momentum) is the rotational analog of linear momentum. It is an important physical quantity because it is a conserved quantity—the total angular momentum of a closed syst ...

of the electron. The diagrams are named after

Walter Grotrian Walter Robert Wilhelm Grotrian (21 April 1890 in Aachen; † 3 March 1954 in Potsdam) was a German astronomer and astrophysicist. Grotrian studied the emission line from the solar corona in the green region of the spectrum; this emission line co ...

, who introduced them in his 1928 book ''Graphische Darstellung der Spektren von Atomen und Ionen mit ein, zwei und drei Valenzelektronen'' ("Graphical representation of the spectra of atoms and ions with one, two and three valence electrons").

References

External links

Hyperphysics: Atomic Energy Level Diagrams

Volumes with Grotrian diagrams of most elements

''Atomic energy-level and Grotrian diagrams'' by Stanley Bashkin and John O. Stoner, Jr.
Volume I: Hydrogen - Phosphorus

Volume I: Hydrogen - Phosphorus (Addenda)

Volume III

Volume IV
Diagrams Spectroscopy Atomic physics Photochemistry {{spectroscopy-stub

See also

References

External links

Volumes with Grotrian diagrams of most elements