In physics and chemistry, the Lyman series is a hydrogen spectral series of transitions and resulting ultraviolet  emission lines of the hydrogen atom as an electron goes from n = 2 to n = 1 (where n is the principal quantum number) the lowest energy level of the electron. The transitions are named sequentially by Greek letters: from n = 2 to n = 1 is called Lyman-alpha, 3 to 1 is Lyman-beta, 4 to 1 is Lyman-gamma, etc. The series is named after its discoverer, Theodore Lyman. The greater the difference in the principal quantum numbers, the higher the energy of the electromagnetic emission.