Question

A photon with a frequency associated with ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by a hydrogen atom. The atom later undergoes spontaneous photon emission, producing three photons. How is this possible, and what can you say about the energies of the emitted photons WILL FAN AND MEDAL!!!

Answer 1

The emitted photons are produced by the electron dropping to energy levels between the initial and final levels for photon absorption. Because the energies between any two of these levels is smaller than the difference between the energy levels during absorption, the photons that are emitted have smaller energies than the absorbed photon. Because of conservation of energy, the energies of the three emitted photons equal the energy of the absorbed photon.