Excited State and Ground state generally refer to the state of an electron in an atom.
Each atom has various energy levels present in it. The level that is nearest to its nucleus is the LOWEST energy level.
This is also called as the GROUND state.
All the electrons present in an atom are generally in the ground state.When the electron is present in this level, the atom is said to be in a stable state.
As we go away from the nucleus, the energy content of the level INCREASES.
When an electron occupies any of the HIGHER energy levels above the GROUND state, it is said to be in EXCITED state.
When an atom is excited using thermal or other type of energy, one or more electrons present in the atom get excited.They jump to higher energy level. Thus,the atom is now said to be in EXCITED state.
However, the atom in this state is HIGHLY unstable because it has HIGH energy. Thus, it undergoes some processes which decrease its energy content.
Each atom has various energy levels present in it. The level that is nearest to its nucleus is the LOWEST energy level.
This is also called as the GROUND state.
All the electrons present in an atom are generally in the ground state.When the electron is present in this level, the atom is said to be in a stable state.
As we go away from the nucleus, the energy content of the level INCREASES.
When an electron occupies any of the HIGHER energy levels above the GROUND state, it is said to be in EXCITED state.
When an atom is excited using thermal or other type of energy, one or more electrons present in the atom get excited.They jump to higher energy level. Thus,the atom is now said to be in EXCITED state.
However, the atom in this state is HIGHLY unstable because it has HIGH energy. Thus, it undergoes some processes which decrease its energy content.