Question

What do you call the pattern of lines formed when light passes through a prism to separate it into the different frequencies of light it contains?

Answer 1

atomic emission spectrum

Scientists studied the distinctive pink color of the gas discharge created by hydrogen gas. When a narrow beam of this light was viewed through a prism, the light was separated into four lines of very specific wavelengths  and frequencies since and are inversely related . An atomic emission spectrum is the pattern of lines formed when light passes through a prism to separate it into the different frequencies of light it contains. The Figure below shows the atomic emission spectrum of hydrogen.