• Question: what is spectroscopy?

    Asked by 649sped43 to Baljit, Michael, Jesus on 18 Nov 2015. This question was also asked by Auntie Chidi.
    • Photo: Baljit Ghatora

      Baljit Ghatora answered on 18 Nov 2015:

      @649sped43- in a nutshell spectroscopy is the interaction of light (in particular electromagnetic radiation) to a sample and instruments will measure the effect of this. For example when infrared radiation is exposed to a sample the molecule will bend or stretch depending on the energy that is absorbed… INfrared is the simplest form of spectroscopy…have you used it before?

    • Photo: Jesus Calvo-Castro

      Jesus Calvo-Castro answered on 19 Nov 2015:

      Hi @649sped43, @Auntie Chidi. Spectroscopy studies the interactions between radiation (light) and matter and how these interactions induce changes in the systems you study so that you can extract the relevant information. Depending on how much energy you supply to your samples, you can induce changes which are larger or smaller and use it to determine the structure, composition and concentration of your samples for example.

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