3 ms·
Skepticism is fair, but the confidence comes from how well we understand atomic spectra
by interludead 2y ago
Skepticism is fair, but the confidence comes from how well we understand atomic spectra
- piker 2y agoIs that about as well as we understand the formation of the universe? /s
- astroH 2y agoa lot better...we can excite these atoms in a lab and simply measure what comes out. often times don't even need a model because spectroscopy can be fully empirical for many transitions
- setopt 2y agoSpectroscopy is a very straight-forward and mature technique. Saying that “we see these spectral lines in this picture so there must be oxygen” is not considered any more controversial than “we see a bright dot in this picture so there must be a star”.