Energy spectrum

An energy spectrum is a distribution of energy among a large assemblage of particles. For any given value of energy, it determines how many of the particles have that much energy. The particles may be atoms or phonons in a solid, electrons in a piece of conducting material, or photons flying through space.

Related Topics:
Energy - Atom - Phonon - Solid - Electron - Photon

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In the particular case of photons, an energy spectrum distributes photons along the electromagnetic spectrum (some photons are visible light, some are infrared, some are x-rays, etc.) Analysis of spectra of light emitted, transmitted or reflected by objects can reveal much about their fundamental properties.

Related Topics:
Electromagnetic spectrum - Visible light - Infrared - X-ray - Analysis of spectra

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