A spectroscope is an instrument used to observe the atomic spectrumof a given material. Because atoms can absorb or emit radiation only at certain specific wavelengths defined by electron transitions, the spectrum of each type of atom is directly...

Any instrument used to examine the component colors of light is called a spectroscope. The effect of light separated into its individual colors is often seen in the form of a rainbow, which results when rays of sunlight pass through tiny droplets of...

John Dalton's (1766-1844) atomic theory served scientists remarkably well for nearly a century after its announcement in 1803. But discoveries made in the late 1890s made it clear that Dalton's theory was incorrect or incomplete in some important...

Unlike so many inventions that are the result of fortunate accident, the ultraviolet camera/spectrograph was intentionally designed for a specific purpose: to record data yielded by space explorations. On its first mission aboard the Apollo 16...

A spectrometer is an optical instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's...