a diagram of a spectroscope

    Caption: A diagram illustrating how a spectroscope (AKA spectrometer) works. The key part is the diffraction grating.

    Features:

    1. The diffraction grating disperses the light into a spectrum.

    2. A spectrum can either be displayed as an image or on an intensity versus wavelength (or frequency) plot.

    3. The study of spectra is spectroscopy.

    4. Spectroscopy is the most important of all chemical analysis techniques---at least in the opinion of nearly everyone and yours truly too.

      To analyze with spectroscopy, you do NOT have to have a sample of the substance. You just have to have light from the substance. Thus, we can know what material makes up the observable universe using astronomical spectroscopy while still being stuck on little, old Earth.

    Credit/Permission: © User:Kkmurray, 2007 / Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.
    Image link: Wikipedia: File:Spectrometer schematic.gif.
    Local file: local link: spectroscope.html.
    File: Optics file: spectroscope.html.