spectroscope

spec·tro·scope  (spktr-skp)

n.

An instrument for producing and observing spectra.

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spectro·scopic (-skpk), spectro·scopi·cal (--kl) adj.

spectro·scopi·cal·ly adv.

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spectroscope

Noun

Physics an instrument for forming or recording a spectrum by passing a light ray through a prism or grating

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spectroscope  (spktr-skp)

Any of various instruments used to analyze the component parts of a sample by separating its parts into a spectrum. In a light spectroscope, light is focused into a thin beam of parallel rays by a lens, and then passed through a prism or diffraction grating that separates the light into a frequency spectrum. The intensity of light at different frequencies in the spectrum can be analyzed to determine certain properties of the source of the light, such as its chemical composition or how quickly it is moving. In a mass spectroscope, sample ions are beamed through an electric or magnetic field that deflects the ions; the amount of deflection depends on the ratio of their mass to their electric charge. The ion beam is thus split into separate bands; the collection of bands is called the mass spectrum of the sample, and can be analyzed to determine the distribution of ions in the sample. Spectroscopes are also called spectrographs.

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spectroscope

a device for producing and observing a spectrum of light or other radiation. — spectroscopy, n.

See also: Instruments

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

spectroscope - an optical instrument for spectrographic analysis prism spectroscope collimator - optical device consisting of a tube containing a convex achromatic lens at one end and a slit at the other with the slit at the focus of the lens; light rays leave the slit as a parallel beam mass spectrometer, spectrometer - spectroscope for obtaining a mass spectrum by deflecting ions into a thin slit and measuring the ion current with an electrometer optical instrument - an instrument designed to aid vision optical prism, prism - optical device having a triangular shape and made of glass or quartz; used to deviate a beam or invert an image spectrograph - a spectroscope by which spectra can be photographed