Why does a sodium street lamp give off a different color light than a neon light?

Answer 1

Every substance absobs and emits particular wavelengths of light. The colour of light corresponds to its wavelength.

In both sodium and neon lamps electrical energy is used to excite the atoms of the gas inside. This means that the electrons of the sodium and neon atoms have moved into a higher energy state. Electrons can only exit in specific energy states for the kind of atom they are in. After awhile, the electron 'falls' back down into it's normal energy state, and when it does so it emits a photon.

The photon has an amount of energy equal to the difference in the energy states. The amount of energy a photon has corresponds to its wavelength.

The difference in energy states for the electrons is different in sodium and neon, so they produce different wavelengths, or colours.

Answer 2

Sodium Street Light

Answer 3

Sodium and neon as elements do not have the same electronic structure, not only in terms of number of electrons, but the energy levels at which the orbitals lie. When light is given off by a lamp, what you are seeing is the emission of energy which the electrons in the atoms had adsorbed to move up to higher energy orbitals from lower ones. Since the difference in those levels is different in neon and sodium, the wavelength of the light emitted will be different.

Answer 4

When elements are excited by electricity the outer level electrons jump up to a higher energy level. Then they fall back a specific distance or wavelength which is a color of light. Na makes the yellow orange color you see in sodium lights, Ne makes a red orange.

Answer 5

Each atom has a unique set of the emission lines. Since sodium atoms emit different wavelength of light than neon atoms, we humans see different colors