On the series spectrum of gold

Abstract

In Bohr’s scheme of electronic orbits for the atoms of the elements, the stable atoms of gold, silver and copper are supposed to have an outermost system consisting of one electron. This electron is represented as describing an elliptical orbit, in the case of gold of the 6 1 type, in the case of silver of the 5 1 type, and in the case of copper of the 4 1 type. Following the analogy afforded by the series spectra of the alkali elements, this would mean that the arc spectra of gold, silver and copper should consist, in part at least, of doublet systems. Such doublet series have been partially identified in the case of silver and copper, and the results are recorded by Fowler and by Paschen and Götze. These writers, however, do not record any series for the arc spectrum of gold. Hicks, in his work on 'The Analysis of Spectra,’ has grouped many of the wave-lengths in the arc spectrum of gold into a number of doublet series, but it would appear from a consideration of experimental data recently obtained that some of his conclusions will require to be modified. The key to further progress in the disentanglement of the series arc spectrum of gold appears to be given by a short note recently published by Thorsen. In this note two sets of wavelengths are tabulated that constitute respectively a sharp and a diffuse subordinate doublet series. These wave-lengths and wave-numbers, which are given by Thorsen in the Rowland Scale, have been recalculated in International Angstroms and are given in Table I. The limits of the two subordinate series so calculated are given as 67π 1 = 33,287 and 6π 2 = 37,102.