How Atoms Produce the Spectra Let's see how Bohr's model of the atom explains the three types of spectra. In order to go to a lower energy orbit, the electron must lose energy of a certain specific amount. The atom releases the energy is the form of a photon with that particular energy. An atom with an electron at the E 2 orbit and wants to get to the lower E 1 energy orbit. The electron may reach the ground state in one jump or it may temporarily stop at one or more energy levels on the way, but it canNOT stop somewhere between the energy levels.
Different jumps produce photons of different energies.
The atom produces light of certain wavelengths. The more atoms undergoing a particular transition, the more intense the emission line will be. The intensity depends on the density and temperature of the gas. An absorption line is produced when a photon of just the right energy is absorbed by an atom, kicking an electron to a higher energy orbit. Because the energy levels in an element's atoms are fixed, the size of the outward jumps made by the electrons are the same as the inward jumps.