Spectra Concept

Demonstrations in Spectra

Hands holding fiber optic cable and a green laser pointer aimed at the cable tip, with laptop displaying OceanView software showing a sharp spectral peak; small blue USB spectrometer visible at left
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Spectrometer

Uses a fiber-optic USB spectrometer to display real-time emission spectra of LED and UV light sources. Students see how different sources produce distinct spectral signatures and can measure wavelengths directly.
Light tower (right) with three vertically-mounted white light sources and their diffraction grating spectra (left): LED strip spectrum with horizontal line structure from strip segments (top), incandescent smooth continuous rainbow (middle), CFL discrete emission lines (bottom)
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Three White Lights

Compares the spectra of three "white" light sources through diffraction gratings. Students see that incandescent light produces a continuous blackbody spectrum, the CFL shows discrete mercury emission lines, and the …
Spectroscopy cart in a darkened room with all discharge tubes lit vertically, and their diffracted spectra visible to the right — discrete line spectra and continuous spectra from different sources
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Spectroscopy Cart

Students view discrete emission line spectra from multiple gas discharge tubes using handheld diffraction gratings. Provides direct visual evidence for quantized energy levels and element-specific spectral fingerprints.
Four colored candles burning in a foam base (purple, green, yellow, and red flames from bottom to top) with their diffracted emission spectra visible to the right, showing distinct colored lines for each flame
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Colorful Flames

Metal-compound candles produce colored flames with characteristic emission lines visible through a diffraction grating on a document camera. Students see direct visual evidence that atoms emit discrete wavelengths — not …
Mercury emission spectrum showing yellow, green, violet, and blue-violet spectral lines projected on a screen
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Mercury Line Spectra

A mercury lamp's emission is dispersed to show discrete spectral lines (yellow doublet, green, blue, violet), providing direct visual evidence that atomic energy levels are quantized. Students see that excited …
Hydrogen discharge tube glowing purple-white, mounted vertically in a housing with a DANGER high-voltage label; to the left, the diffraction spectrum shows distinct colored emission lines against a dark background
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Balmer Series 1

Students observe the discrete visible spectral lines of hydrogen using handheld diffraction gratings, providing direct evidence of quantized atomic energy levels. The Balmer series lines (red, blue-green, violet) correspond to …