Evidence of a New Spectral Line Intensity Formula for Optical Emission

Abstract

Experimental evidence of a new intensity formula in optical emission spectroscopy is presented. The evidence is based on two different methods of data analysis. The mathematical foundation of analysis of the fluctuations in data of repeatedly measured line intensities is presented in detail. This method applied to data from various spectral lamps yields strong support for the new formula. By another more straightforward method, tabulated standard values of absolute intensities of a great number of spectral lines are shown to be in excellent agreement with the new formula. It is suggested that the two methods of analysis can be useful in spectrochemical research for identification of spectral lines and determination of atomic transition rates. The significance of the new formula is discussed in view of Planck's blackbody radiation law.