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The Electron

In Our Time: Science

CHAPTER

Spectral Lines Are Like Rings on a Ladder

The energy levels of electrons and atoms are like rungs on a ladder. An electron in an atom to make the waves match perfectly is like a series of rungs, but you can't be halfway between them. And if an electron is on a high level or high energy rung and it drops down to a low energy rung, the spare energy is radiated as light. Victor: Do you think that electrons are fundamental particles? Yes. I mean, so muons, what we've discovered in the last almost 100 years since then,  is that electrons are part of a triplet of particles with same properties, but they get heavier each time.

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