Spectrometer

:For Acoustic uses in spectrographs of sound waves, see below.

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A spectrometer is an optical instrument for measuring properties of light over some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The measured variable is often the light intensity but could also be the polarization state, for instance. The independent variable is often the wavelength of the light, usually expressed as some fraction of a meter, but it is sometimes expressed as some unit directly proportional to the photon energy, such as wavenumber or electron volts, which has a reciprocal relationship to wavelength. A spectrometer is used in spectroscopy for producing spectral lines and measuring their wavelengths and intensities. Spectrometer is a term that is applied to instruments that operate over a very wide range of wavelengths, from gamma rays and X-rays into the far infrared.

Related Topics:
Optical - Light - Electromagnetic spectrum - Intensity - Polarization - Wavelength - Photon - Wavenumber - Electron volt - Spectroscopy - Spectral line - Gamma ray - X-ray - Far infrared

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In general, any particular instrument will operate over a small portion of this total range because of the different techniques used to measure different portions of the spectrum. Below optical frequencies (that is, at microwave, radio, and audio frequencies), the spectrum analyzer is a closely related electronic device.

Related Topics:
Microwave - Radio - Audio - Spectrum analyzer

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