Introduction Some time ago in this Lab Notebook (back in 2023) I demonstrated the concept of F-centres, using crystals of caesium chloride (CsCl) excited in
Introduction I introduced the infrared (IR) spectrometer in a three-part article early last year. You can refer to those posts on its historical development (in Part
Introduction Readers of this blog may have noticed that in many of my posts on spectroscopy in the UV and visible, I often use the
Introduction Dietary supplements are part of our everyday lives these days. Their function is to maintain a regular daily intake of essential minerals, elements and
Introduction In a recent post, the infrared (IR) spectra of a series of common organic solvents were recorded, obtained with an FTIR spectrometer and an
Introduction We’ve all heard the rather derogatory phrase “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics”. Apparently it’s origin is attributed to British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, via
Introduction Many minerals fluoresce in their natural state. The Fluorescent Mineral Society in the USA lists around 200 specimens with some fine images of minerals
Introduction The historical development of the infrared spectrometer was described in a three-part article a few months ago. A table was presented that listed the
Introduction A popular demonstration for colleges and university chemistry classes is to introduce students to chemical reaction kinetics by monitoring the reaction between Crystal Violet
Introduction In an earlier post, I used a sample of caesium chloride (CsCl) and a small Tesla coil to generate F centres. F centres are
Introduction Here’s what happens when a highly fluorescent compound, in this case sodium fluorescein, dissolves in water and a UV lamp shines on the solution:
Introduction In Part 2 of this article on the development of the infrared spectrometer, I covered the basic details of the Fourier transform version of
Introduction If you enjoy a gin & tonic in the evening after a hard day’s work, then you are consuming small amounts of the flavouring
Introduction This post is to help the home experimenter identify the spectra of some common light sources that we all come across in the home.
Happy Halloween! Halloween is fast approaching 👻 so why don’t you try out this fun experiment with your kids? The next time you’re out in
Introduction One of the very first posts on this site introduced the basics of Absorption Spectroscopy and the concepts of Absorbance and Transmittance of light
Introduction In two earlier posts on this site we recorded the absorption spectrum of molecular iodine I2 with some simple instrumentation. The first section outlined
Introduction Spectrum tubes are a very useful way to introduce science students to the study of the interaction of light photons with matter and the
Introduction A thin film can be defined as any material with a thickness ranging from a fraction of a nanometre (nm) to a few microns
Introduction Many spectral line profiles reported elsewhere on this blog frequently take advantage of a very versatile software package called Spectragryph. The software was developed
Introduction Here is the emission spectrum of hydrogen gas in a discharge tube recorded at moderate spectral resolution: Fig. 1 The Spectrum of Hydrogen Gas
Introduction In this article we are going to take a brief look at the emission spectra of the Noble Gases. The noble gases constitute the
Introduction In a previous post we described the Raman Effect and provided a non-mathematical introduction to some of the basic principles of Raman spectroscopy. The
Introduction The above image is a sample of high purity caesium chloride crystals, chemical formula CsCl. They are in a sealed glass ampoule and were
Introduction The chemical element Selenium. Atomic number 34. Chemical symbol Se. The quirky title I chose for this post – an element that can’t make
Introduction Millions of us see the Swan bands every day without even realising it. Every time a gas cooker is lit, or a Bunsen burner
In a previous post I described one of the “workhorses” I have been using for several years for recording spectra. This is the Oriel MS125
Introduction In Part I of this post I briefly described some of the properties of the iodine molecule. The position of iodine in the Periodic
Introduction Iodine. Atomic number 53. Chemical symbol I. Iodine is the rarest of the stable halogens, if we ignore the radioactive elements Astatine (At) and
Introduction Over the years I have gradually accumulated a collection of optical filters. Some of these date back to the days of silver halide photography
Introduction In a previous post, the phosphorescent properties of several glow-in-the-dark decorative paints were evaluated. The active phosphor in these paints was likely to be
Introduction Does anyone remember having glow-in-the-dark stars, planets and constellation stickers that as kids we would stick to our bedroom walls and ceiling? I don’t
Introduction There are a number of technical constraints to consider when selecting a spectrometer for a particular application, whether this involves purchasing a commercial model
Introduction An off-axis guider is a device well known to all astronomers, professionals and amateurs alike. It usually consists of a compact optical unit inserted
This is a quick post that examines the spectral line emission changes that occur when a Mercury-Argon (Hg-Ar) gas discharge lamp is switched on and
The calibration of spectra in wavelength λ that you will see in these different posts has usually been performed with commercial “pencil-type” spectral lamps of
Introduction Modern spectrometers today, regardless of their size, employ sensitive linear CCD and CMOS sensors. The most popular sizes have 1024, 2048 and more recently
Introduction The development of the spectroscope over the last 160 years since its invention has paralleled the evolution in technological advances. This is particularly the
Measuring the fluorescence from highlighter pens is always an interesting educational experiment to try and is very popular in schools and colleges to demonstrate the basic principles of fluorescence and spectra. Usually, green, blue or violet laser pointers are used to excite the sample.
I’ll say it again… Raman rules! No apologies because I’m a big fan of his and all work originally worked on this fascinating phenomenon. I
In a previous post we described in scientific terms the basic principles of the optical phenomenon of reflection. The definition of the percentage reflectance of
Introduction As its name implies, this spectrometer has a fixed diffraction grating. So the wavelength range available and the resolving power (the spectral resolution) are
Introduction MS125 This is a very versatile spectrograph that I have used over the years to record a variety of spectra from various emission sources,
Introduction This post describes some construction details for an improved version of the SGS spectrometer in what I called the MFSS or Multiple Fixed Slit
A few years ago I built a couple of diffraction grating spectrographs. At that time I was a keen amateur astronomer with some degree of
Introduction Several years ago I connected the MS125 spectrometer to a 12 inch Meade LX200 telescope to test its suitability for recording stellar spectra. In
Reflection is simply the return of a light ray from any surface without any change in wavelength. It is also referred to as Reflectance, defined
What is Fluorescence? Before we can consider what fluorescence actually is in scientific terms, we must mention the general process of luminescence. Luminescence is defined
Absorbance In very general terms, Absorption Spectroscopy is the spectroscopic technique that considers what happens when electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength passes through a
