Product Overview
This beautiful 24" x 36" laminated poster shows the spectra for each element in the periodic table in brilliant colors. It's a great way to illustrate that each element has its own spectral "fingerprint."
If you're a teacher, this poster is a memorable teaching tool! Whether you're teaching chemistry, physics, astronomy or general science, your students will be fascinated by this beautiful and effective presentation.
Also, makes a great gift to a colleague or office-mate!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Where did the data on your poster come from?
- Our data source was the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, http://www.nist.gov.
Why are some of the boxes empty in your poster?
- Data for these elements was not provided by the NIST because spectra are unavailable. This is generally because the element has a very short half-life, or is synthesized in the lab and exists in conditions that do not allow spectra to be generated.
Why do some of the boxes in your poster have more colored lines than others?
- The spectrum that a given element produces depends on the physical properties of that element. Each element differs from the others. The field of quantum mechanics is used to describe the spectra of the elements.nics)
Why don’t some of the spectra in your poster exactly match the spectra I saw in my lab?
- The spectra that an element generates varies depending on conditions (temperature, pressure, etc.). And which specific spectral lines can actually be seen in the lab depends on the type of spectrometer that is used. In addition, some spectra lines in the real world may be more dim or thin than in our poster. For clarity in our poster, we displayed each line synthesized with a width of 2.5 nm and equal brightness.
How did you create this poster?
- We pre-processed the NIST data and then used our RSpec Explorer software to display the data. RSpec Explorer is an affordable desktop spectrometer for physics, chemistry, and astronomy educators. RSpec Explorer is an excellent companion to our poster. Use it to capture gas tube and other spectra in real-time. Add a small grating and capture the spectra of stars.
