See Also: Rydberg(dictionary)

Rydberg (iou)



Rydberg noun. E20.
[Johannes Robert Rydberg (1854-1919), Swedish physicist.]
Physics.
I.
Used attrib. and in possess. to designate concepts developed by Rydberg. E20.
Rydberg constant, Rydberg's constant a constant, 1.097 107 m1 (symbol R), which appears in the formulae for the wave numbers of lines in atomic spectra and is a function of the rest mass and charge of the electron, the speed of light, and Planck's constant. Rydberg formula, Rydberg's formula an empirical formula giving the wave numbers of frequencies of the lines in the spectral series of atoms and simple molecules.
II.
(Also rydberg.) In full Rydberg unit. A unit of energy given by e2/2a0 (approximately 2.425 1028 joule), where e is the electronic charge and a0 is the radius of the first Bohr orbit for a nucleus of infinite mass. M20.