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We all know that the alkali metals give solvated electrons in liquid ammonia which is responsible for the blue color of the solution.

It is stated, "the blue color of the solution is due to the ammoniated electron which absorbs energy in visible region of light."

But i couldn't understand why solvated electron is absorbing energy?

Nithish Karthik
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    Interesting question! These are different, but related questions: What is happening in this video of solvated electrons donated from sodium in ammonia? and also How to think of solvated electrons? – uhoh Jul 23 '19 at 02:01
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    A solvated electron is not a free electron in a vacuum. It is associated with the solvent as the name indicates. – AChem Jul 23 '19 at 02:36
  • @M.Farooq Now I want to ask if an electron in a dense plasma can be thought of as solvated ;-) Something like "Are dense, partially ionized plasmas also solutions?" – uhoh Jul 23 '19 at 03:51
  • Are we discussing solvated electrons or are we discussing plasma based reactions.The comment and your question are different. – Chakravarthy Kalyan Jul 23 '19 at 04:34
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    Basically the cage of solvent and the electron are bound. This entity has its own energy levels and, at least at a basic level, you shouldn't wonder it has specific transitions – Alchimista Jul 23 '19 at 11:05
  • @uhoh, Plasma physics is not my area. However the "Are dense, partially ionized plasmas also solutions? is purely a semantics issue. As Shakespeare said "What's in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet". Just remember that in a typical plasma only small fraction consists free electrons and ions. The emission spectrum of plasma is a continuum with superimposed lines of the element. – AChem Jul 23 '19 at 13:25
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    Is it that the solvated electron appears to go around absorbing energy from the environment? Rather, consider that the solvated electron just sits there (stably, in the dark), but when white light illuminates it, it can jump to a higher energy state by absorbing some of the red light from the white, leaving blue light to be seen by the observer. – James Gaidis Jul 23 '19 at 14:33
  • A solvated electron sufficiently disturbs the solvent to form a cavity. Hence, the electron is confined in a relatively small space. Anything as light as an electron which is confined will have quantized energy levels as quantization is typically due to boundary conditions. From this it is clear the electron can absorb energy. Whether or not the first excited state is below the top of the well will depend on temperature, pressure, and the solvent. Also, this is in no way a plasma. – jheindel Jul 27 '19 at 19:58

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