spectral line


noun Optics.

a line in a spectrum due to the absorption or emission of light at a discrete frequency.

Origin of spectral line

First recorded in 1865–70

Scientific definitions for spectral line

spectral line
[ spĕktrəl ]

An isolated bright or dark line in a spectrograph produced by emission or absorption of light of a single wavelength, generally corresponding to a specific shift in the energy of an electron moving from one orbital to another.