Line Width

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Line Width

</dt>
The finite width, expressed either in wavelength units or frequency units, of a spectral line (e.g., an absorption line). </dd>
It is customary to employ, as a convenient measure of this quantity, the half-width, which is the width of the spectral line measured between the two points at which its intensity is just half the peak intensity of the line center. The bell-shaped profile of a spectral line is produced, in general, by the joint action of several factors. Each line is characterized, first of all, by a natural width which is related through quantum principles to the lifetime of the excited state of the emitting atom or molecule, in the case of lines in an emission spectrum. This natural width may be extended by Doppler broadening due to random thermal motions of the emitting or absorbing gas, by pressure broadening due to collisions between the particles involved in the radiation, and by electric fields, as in the Stark effect. Compare equivalent width. [[/a>|/a>]] </dd>

References

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