The following work is supported by the NSF, grant #ESI-9553846.

MiniSpectroscopy is best viewed with a monitor that displays more than 256 colors!

MiniSpectroscopy displays a visual representation (a "spectroscope view") of a sample spectrum simultaneously with a graphical (intensity vs. wavelength) representation. Students draw or redraw the graph using the computer mouse, and the corresponding "spectroscope view" appears or changes immediately as they draw, changing just as changes are made in the graph. This immediate feedback gives students a kinesthetic connection between making the graph and viewing the spectrum being represented.
MiniSpectroscopy was written by Freeman Deutsch.

MiniSpectroscopy is a simplified version of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics full-featured spectroscopy software called Virtual Spectroscope.

Common Spectral Lines:

Energy
(eV)
Wavelength
(nm)
Due to
Where seen
3.16
3.13
393
397
Calcium
Calcium
Sun
Sun
3.07
2.86
2.85
2.56
405
434
436
486
Mercury
Hydrogen
Mercury
Hydrogen
Fluorescent light, gas tube
Sun, gas tube
Fluorescent light, gas tube
Sun, gas tube
2.40
2.40
2.36
2.27
2.15
2.15
2.11
2.11
517
517
527
546
577
579
589
590
Iron
Magnesium
Iron
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Sodium
Sodium
Sun
Sun
Sun
Fluorescent light, gas tube
Fluorescent light, gas tube
Fluorescent light, gas tube
Sun, match flame
Sun, match flame
1.89
1.81
656
687
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Sun, gas tube
Sun

Virtual Spectroscope

Virtual Spectroscope is a colorful and easy-to-use software program for teaching about spectra and graphing.

Virtual Spectroscope comes with many different spectra, gases, lamps, astronomical objects, galaxies, and more.

The software displays a visual representation (a "spectroscope view") of a sample spectrum simultaneously with a graphical (intensity vs. wavelength) representation. Students draw or redraw the graph using the computer mouse, and the corresponding "spectroscope view" appears or changes immediately as they draw, changing just as changes are made in the graph. This immediate feedback gives students a kinesthetic connection between making the emission graph and viewing the spectrum being represented.

Another way in which the software can be used is to display a stored spectrum with the graph hidden: students try to draw the corresponding graph, and then compare their version with the original graph. Furthermore, the visual systems of animals, pigment schemes of plants, astronomical objects, and the responses of electronic cameras and sensors can be investigated with data stored on disk, with data taken with the Project STAR Spectrophotometer,* or graphs entered by students. The software will be available for both Mac- and PC-compatible platforms.

*The Project Star Spectrophotometer is currently being sold by Daedalon Corporation of Salem, Massachusetts.

The Spectroscopy materials are available from Science Kit Inc. of Tonawanda New York.

Virtual Spectroscope is available from Physics Academic Software.

Physics Academic Software
Box 8202
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8202

(919) 515-7447 Information
(800) 955-8275 Ordering

Email: pas@ncsu.edu
Fax: (919) 515-2682
Web: http://www.aip.org/pas/