James Franck and Gustav HertzBy: Christopher KellnerJames Frank and Gustav Hertz received the Nobel Prize in 1925 for the Frank-Hertz experiment conducted in 1914. This experiment helped confirm the Frank-Hertz model Bohr atom by discovering the laws that govern how an electron affects an atom. Atomic physics was a new science created in 1913 by Niels Bohr. He did this by formulating several new hypotheses to explain various discrepancies between luminous bodies and the radiation they emit that could not be explained by classical physics. Several decades earlier, in experiments in the field of spectroscopy it had been noted that observation of glowing gas through a spectrometer revealed many different lines called spectral lines. The relationship between the lines has been described by several scientists, the most famous of whom was Rydberg. However, the fundamental question of how a single element can output so many lines could not be answered. Niels Bohr responded with the following hypotheses:Each atom can exist in an unlimited number of different states, the so-called stationary states. Each of these stationary states is characterized by a given energy level. The difference between two such energy levels, divided by Planck's constant h, is the frequency of oscillation of a spectral line that can be emitted by the atom. In addition to these general hypotheses, Bohr also provided specific ones for use with hydrogen and helium that allow people to calculate very well the spectral lines that correspond to experimental data. Unfortunately, the general hypotheses discovered by Bohr could not become experimental fact until an experiment confirmed that atoms had different states. This was where Frank and Hertz came in. The Frank-Hertz experiment showed that the atoms... in the center of the paper... Frank and Hertz thought that the observed ultraviolet light was due to this ionization. Neil Bohr published a paper in 1915 in which he stated that the results of the Frank-Hertz experiment corresponded better with his theory of quantum states exited. In 1919, Frank and Hertz mostly accepted that their experiment confirmed Bohr's quantum model. Frank said this. It's funny how many accidents turn into Nobel Prizes. You can see this experiment taking place in many different places, except they tend to use different atoms. The most common would be neon signs. The main color emitted when a free electron hits a neon atom is red, and with high voltage, there will be many collisions producing red light. Also, because the voltage is variable, the source of the multiple red lights shifts very quickly making everything appear to be constantly emitting red light.