SIMG-215-20061: LABORATORY #5

1 Laboratory #5: Grating Spectrometer

1.1 Objective:
To observe and measure the spectra of different light sources.

1.2 Materials:
1. OSA optics kit.
2. Nikon digital camera (available from Stockroom)
3. Cardboard box
4. Adhesive tape
5. Scissors
6. ImageJ Software (installed on lab PCs and available as a free download from http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/

1.3 Background:
A transparent diffraction grating is a piece of glass or plastic with a series of parallel lines spaced
very close together, as illustrated in Figure 1. The lines can be made in many ways (scratches,
strings of plastic, etc.). Regardless of how the lines are made, they act the same way. They cause
some of the light to change direction. This is represented by the deviation angle θ in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Schematic of diffraction of white light into its spectrum by a grating

The deviation angle θ depends on the spacing of the lines and the wavelength of the light.
More deviation (larger θ) occurs if the lines of the grating are spaced closer together and/or if the
wavelength of the light increases.

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 The wavelength of light governs its perceived color. Red has the longest wavelength of light that
we can see. The longest wavelength of visible light is λ = 700 nm. The shortest is violet λ = 400 nm.
Green is in the middle with λ = 550 nm.The familiar spectrum colors are easy to remember with
the mnemonic "Roy-GBiv" for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Different light
sources have different amounts of these colors. In this laboratory exercise, you will use a grating
to disperse the light from different light sources and measure the relative amount of the different
colors.

1.4 Part I: Visual observation of a spectrometer

A grating is supplied in your OSA optics kit, as shown in Figure 2. Hold the grating up to your
eye with the long dimension in the horizontal direction as shown in Figure 3.Look at a light source
to see the spectrum of the light source. The spectrum will be on both sides of the source. Look at
the spectrum that is on the right side of the source by moving your eye and grating so the source
is on the left side of the grating. Examine several different sources of white light. Do the different
sources of white light produce different spectra?

Figure 2: Diffraction Grating in OSA Optics Discovery Kit

Figure 3: use a diffraction grating to see the spectrum of a light source by holding the grating next
to you eye.

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1.5 Part II: Building a Quantitative Spectrometer
To improve the spectra that you observed in Part I, and to record these spectra quantitatively, you
will construct a spectrometer. Place the grating over the digital still camera as illustrated in Figure
4. Hold the grating in place with tape. Now, however, you can press the shutter button and take a
picture of the spectrum. (Ideally only the light source you are measuring will be on. You may find
that you need to have some other light because the camera will not fire it it is too dark).

Figure 4: Any camera can be used as a spectrometer (viewfinder, single-lens reflex, or video). For
a viewfinder digital camera, the grating should go over both the viewfinder and the lens. For an
SLR or video camera, place the grating over the lens only.

An improved spectrum is seen if the size of the light source is very long and very thin. You
can achieve this by shinning the light from the source onto a long, narrow strip of translucent tape.
Construct the spectrometer box as illustrated in Figure 5. The goal is to create a narrow slit less
than 1 mm wide. You can use any cardboard box that is at least 200 mm × 200 mm in size. cut a
rectangular hole, as shown. The hole should be about 50 mm × 10 mm. Place index cards over the
hole to form a narrow slit. The slit should be about 0.5 mm wide. Place a single strip of translucent
tape over the slit.

Figure 5: Fabrication of the spectrometer box

Hold the box in front of a light source, as illustrated in Figure 6. The light source can be as close
to the slit as you like. The closer the source, the brighter the spectrum.

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 Figure 6: Location of box, light source, and camera.

Hold the camera up to your eye and look at the slit in the box just as you looked at a light source
with your eye. You should observe the spectrum as illustrated in Figure 7. Press the shutter button
to capture an image of the spectrum.

Figure 7: scene through the viewfinder

The computer monitor in the lab is a light source. Open the word processor and use the white
background as a light source. Place the spectrometer slit near the screen and take a picture of the
monitor spectrum. Capture images of all other light sources made available to you by the instructor.

1.6 Part III: Displaying and Plotting Spectra

Download and save the images to a chosen location on the lab computer. Open the image analysis
program called ImageJ by clicking on its icon. Use the command sequence {File/Open} to open
one of your images. Once an image is open, construct a rectangle around the spectrum using the
rectangle tool; the right and left sides of the rectangle should be positioned at the extreme left edge
of the violet part of the spectrum and extreme right edge of the red part, respectively, as shown in
Figure 8. Note the width of the spectrum as shown in the ImageJ window. A width of about 30 to
70 pixels is common, depending on the grating and the camera you are using.

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 Figure 8: Selection of a region using the “rectangle tool” in ImageJ.

Display the spectrum graph with the commands {Analyze/Plot Profile}, as illustrated in Figure
9. Click on the spectrum graph to highlight it. You can copy the data with the copy button, then
past them into a document. You can copy the image of the plot by holding down the Alt key and
hitting the Print Screen key. You can print the graph with the commands {File/Print} as illustrated
in Figure 10. Generate and print a spectrum for each light source.

Figure 9: Display the spectrum with the commands {Analyze/Plot Profile}

Figure 10: Print the spectrum

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 Figure 11: Relabel the axes

1.7 Lab Report:

Your Lab report should include one printed spectrum for each light source. Label the axes.
Your lab report should address the following:

1. It is often said that white light is a mixture of all colors in the spectrum. According to the
spectra you measured, how would you modify this statement?
2. If you were given a light source of unknown type, could you use the spectrometer to determine
whether or not the light source is an ordinary light bulb?
3. The light sources you measured are of two types. One type is the incandescent source. This
type produces light that is a smooth mix of all wavelengths from 400 nm to 700 nm. The
other type is the line source, which produces light of three dominant wavelengths, with very
little light from intermediate wavelengths. The three dominant wavelengths correspond to red,
green, and blue light. Label each spectra to identify whether the source is an incandescent or
a line source.

1.8 Bonus
In addition to printing the individual spectra, use the copy key to paste all the spectra into a
spreadsheet and plot them together on one plot.