Optical spectroscopy

Optical spectroscopy refers to the interaction of light with matter. This interaction can be absorption, emission, or scattering. The study of these interactions is used to identify and quantify the physical and chemical properties of matter.

History

The history of optical spectroscopy can be traced back to the 17th century when Isaac Newton first discovered that white light could be split into a spectrum of colors using a prism. This discovery laid the foundation for the development of spectroscopy.

Types of Optical Spectroscopy

There are several types of optical spectroscopy, including:

• Absorption spectroscopy: This involves measuring the amount of light absorbed by a sample at different wavelengths.

• Emission spectroscopy: This involves measuring the light emitted by a sample after it has been excited by an energy source.

• Scattering spectroscopy: This involves measuring the light that is scattered off a sample.

Applications

Optical spectroscopy has a wide range of applications in various fields such as chemistry, physics, astronomy, and medicine. It is used to identify and quantify the composition of substances, study the physical properties of matter, and investigate the structure of atoms and molecules.

See Also

• Spectroscopy
• Infrared spectroscopy
• Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy
• Raman spectroscopy

References

Optical spectroscopy Resources
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