Balmer series

A group of lines in the hydrogen spectrum discovered by H. H. Balmer in 1885, later shown to correspond to excitation levels of the hydrogen electron. Their positions are given by the formula v=R _h (m ^-2 -n ^-2 ) where m and n have various integral values, v is the wavenumber and R _h is the hydrogen Rydberg number (=1.0967758x10 ⁷ m ^-1 ). A number of similar series such as the Lyman series and Paschen series are found in other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.