Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlin66
I'm no physicist, but in a "normal" Balmer Hydrogen series, I think the intensity of the Hb is 50% of the Ha...so any diffference in the ratio Hb/Ha shows something else is happening... correct Bernard???
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I don't know, Ken. I vaguely remember reading about this (in Kaler?). If I remember correctly the relative heights of the different lines did depend on temperature. When star temps get high enough to reveal the Balmer Series, Ha is dominant, but as temperature increases more of the H is energised high enough to bring Hb and Hc up. It made sense when I read it, but left me a little confused about the significance of the relative strengths of the lines.
I remember reading about a secondary method of temperature determination based on the relative strength of the lines, but it wasn't explained and gave the impression it wasn't a simple method.
I'll have a look in Kaler tonight... see if I can find it.
Al.