The basic physics of spectroscopy: Light-matter interaction for fun and profit

Event Overview:

“This first session of a four-part ‘Fundamentals of Spectroscopy’ course, will examine core concepts essential to understanding common optical spectroscopy methods. In this session, Adam Wise, and applications specialist from Andor will explain how light – an electromagnetic wave – passes through, bounces off, gets absorbed by, and is made by, atoms, molecules and solids. This session is in no way designed to replace a long and rigorous course of study, but instead tries to show a physical model of the language used to describe spectroscopy, as well as define a common vocabulary that will be relied on as the course continues.

Key learning objectives

* Understand that what a spectrometer ‘sees’ differs from our perception of color, both in terms of finer resolution, and no hard limits on the energies of light that can be detected.
* Discover a simple but meaningful model of how the electric field of light interacts with electrical charges in atoms and molecules.
* Recognize how the wavelength and energy of light relate to different size scales and emission/absorption processes within atoms, molecules, and bulk matter.”

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