= μ 02 me^4 c^3 /8h^3 , where μ 0 is the mag-
netic constant, m and e are the mass
and charge of an electron, c is the
speed of light, and h is the *Planck
constant. It has the value 1.097 × 107
m–1. It is named after the Swedish
physicist Johannes Robert Rydberg
(1854–1919), who developed a for-
mula for the spectrum of hydrogen.
Rydberg spectrumAn absorption
spectrum of a gas in the ultraviolet
region, consisting of a series of lines
that become closer together towards
shorter wavelengths, merging into a
continuous absorption region. The
absorption lines correspond to elec-
tronic transitions to successively
higher energy levels. The onset of
the continuum corresponds to pho-469 Rydberg spectrum
r