how do atoms emit light? (think electrons)?

Answer 1

One way that they emit light is when the electrons are excited and jump up to a higher energy level and then fall back. They fall back a certain distance, or wavelength of light which is a particular color.

Answer 2

Al the answers are correct. Something called the Zeeman Effect can be used to demonstrate this physical phenomenon in the lab. Here we excite plasma atoms with strong magnetic force. That excites the electrons, which then jump into smaller probability clouds around the nucleus.

But they don't much care for that excited state; it's just not natural. Thus, first chance they get, they pop back out to lower energy state probability clouds (so-called orbits). When they do that, they let loose that higher energy as photons. And, as we all know, E = hf; where E is the energy state of an electron and h is Plank's constant, so that del E = h (del f) so the change in light frequency (del f), which we can see through a spectroscope, represents the change in energy between the high and low states.

Maybe a bit more technical than you wanted. But the Zeeman Effect is a cool experiment that can show the photon levels due to changing energy states of the electorns.

Answer 3

Atoms have shells - these shells are actually energy levels. The shells are populated by electrons, with a preferred number of atoms in each shell (or think layer).

When an atom acquires more energy, electrons will jump from their rest state and jump to a higher shell. However this is not the natural state for the electrons.

When an atom looses energy, the electrons fall back toward their normal state, and as each electron falls DOWNWARDS it will emit a photon.

The photon is a quanta of energy - it has no mass. So the atom does not loose mass or change itself - except for its net energy.

Answer 4

Yes, think electrons. Think of electrons jumping from a higher energy level to a lower one and losing energy as they do so. Think about what happens to that energy.

Answer 5

Electrons are brought to an excited, usually by some sort of energy source (i.e., electric current). When they return to their ground state from this excited state, they release photons, or light.