Balmer series

[ bahl-mer ]

noun

, Physics.

1. a series of lines in the visible spectrum of hydrogen.

Balmer series

/ ˈbalmər /

noun

1. a series of lines in the hydrogen spectrum, discovered by Johann Jakob Balmer (1825–98) in 1885

Word History and Origins

Origin of Balmer series¹

1960–65; named after J. J. Balmer (1825–98), Swiss physicist who derived its formula

Example Sentences

Type B—the Orion type, or helium type, with additional lines of origin unknown as yet, but without any of the bright bands of type O. Type A—the Sirian type, the regular Balmer series of hydrogen lines being very intense, with a few other lines not conspicuously marked.

From Project Gutenberg