Astrophysics (Index)About

continuous spectrum

(continuum)
(smooth spectrum or portion of spectrum with no lines)

The term continuous spectrum (or continuum) refers to a spectrum or portion of a spectrum that is smooth, i.e., with no spectral lines or other discontinuities like the Balmer jump. Black-body radiation ideally has such a continuous spectrum. The term is also used to refer to the spectrum on either side of a specific spectral line, or what the spectrum would be without that line, used in describing the line's depth or shape. Often underlying a spectrum is a continuous spectrum with an overall shape (e.g., a black-body spectrum), the actual spectrum also including spectral lines and bands. The term discrete spectrum refers to an unsmooth spectrum, e.g., with such lines.


(spectrum,continuum)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_(physical_sciences)#Continuous_versus_discrete_spectra
https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/contspec.html
https://www.britannica.com/science/continuous-spectrum
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01F8GF8DK2PRY4FP9DA2XPQC8S

Referenced by pages:
21-cm line
Balmer jump (BJ)
black-body radiation
bremsstrahlung
continuum
continuum emission
emission line
full width at half maximum (FWHM)
Kirchhoff's laws
line broadening
spectral line
star formation rate (SFR)

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