During a laboratory experiment involving emission from atomic hydrogen in a discharge tube, only a small number of lines are observed, while the hydrogen spectrum of a star exhibits a large number of lines. This occurs because in a laboratory

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The number of spectral lines observed in an emission spectrum depends on the number of atoms undergoing transitions from various excited energy levels. In a star, the temperature is extremely high. This high thermal energy excites a significant fraction of hydrogen atoms to higher principal quantum numbers. In contrast, the temperature in a laboratory discharge tube is much lower, meaning fewer atoms reach these highly excited states. Furthermore, the total quantity of hydrogen in a star is astronomically larger th