Decoding light’s message
Spectrometers divide light into its constituent wavelengths -- why do we care?
- Just as for the ear -- the various frequencies (wavelengths) contain a lot of information
- The ear is an excellent spectrometer for sound waves
- You can recognize a person just from the sound of their voice
- You can tell whether they are happy or sad
- Think about it
For light, Kirchoff found there were 3 basic types of spectra
- Heated solid or liquid -- a continuous spectrum
- all wavelengths (i.e. colors) present
- referred to as “black body” radiation
- intensity a strong function of temperature ~ T4
- peak wavelength of depends on temperature ~ 1/T