Radiation and Spectra (Astronomy)

Recall cards on light and how it reveals the nature of matter across the universe. The behavior of light: Maxwell's electromagnetic theory, wavelength and frequency, the speed of light, the photon and wave-particle duality, and the inverse square law of brightness. The electromagnetic spectrum: gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, microwaves, and radio waves, plus Wien's law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law for blackbody radiation. Spectroscopy: Newton's prism, dispersion, continuous, absorption, and emission spectra, Fraunhofer lines, and Kirchhoff's identification of elements. The structure of the atom: electrons, protons, and neutrons, the nucleus, isotopes, the Bohr model, and Planck's constant. Formation of spectral lines: ground and excited states, excitation and emission, the Lyman, Balmer, and Paschen series of hydrogen, ionization, and recombination. Finally the Doppler effect: blueshift and redshift, radial velocity, and the Doppler formula.