Forbidden Line

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Forbidden Line </dt>
A line in a spectrum resulting from a transition from a metastable state within an atom. Forbidden lines are not found in ordinary sources, but may be conspicuous in very large bodies of rarefied gas where the time interval between collisions of atoms is long. </dd>
'Forbidden lines of oxygen appear, for example, in the aurora. </dd>

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use