While human vision is remarkable, it isn't very analytical. Although not apparent to the unaided eye, the light emanating from a white incandescent bulb or fluorescent lamp consists of many colors and, in some instances, virtually every color in the rainbow. Likewise, direct viewing of light from a neon sign doesn't reveal its rather complex structure. Observing light's constituent colors requires the use of a prism or diffraction grating, components found in a device known as a spectroscope.
Quantitative, research-quality spectroscopes, often referred to as spectrometers, can be very expensive and are frequently not an option for everyday educational purposes. Therefore, an affordable, portable spectroscope would be a desirable device for investigating qualitative differences between light sources encountered in daily life. This paper proposes a simple, low-cost, and portable spectroscope (easily carried in a pocket or purse) that can be used as a useful optical tool in a variety of...
