Originally a spectrum was what was observed when white light was dispersed through a prism. Soon the term referred to a plot of light intensity as a function of frequency or wavelength. Planck later realized that frequency represents electromagnetic energy.
- E = h ν
The recording and studying of spectrum of energy levels in atoms or molecules in the physical sciences is called spectroscopy. A device for recording a spectrum is a spectrometer or spectrophotometer. The latter term is used when an optical spectrum is recorded by the device.
Table of contents |
2 Energy of photons 3 kinetic energy of electrons 4 kinetic energy of ions or molecules 5 vibrational energy 6 Other Topics |
Types of spectroscopy
Energy of photons
kinetic energy of electrons
kinetic energy of ions or molecules
vibrational energy
Other Topics