Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy
Okay kiddo, do you remember how sometimes we can't see things with our eyes because they are too small or too far away? Well, there are special machines called spectrophotometers that can help us see the colors of things that are too tiny or too distant for us to see. One type of spectrophotometer is called an ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer.
UV-Vis spectroscopy is a way of measuring how light interacts with matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space, like the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Light is a type of energy that travels in waves and allows us to see things. You know how we can see different colors like red, blue, and green? That's because each color has a different wavelength, which is like the distance between the tops of the waves.
When we shine light on a substance, some of the light gets absorbed and some of it gets reflected. The colors that are absorbed depend on the chemical composition of the substance. UV-Vis spectrophotometry measures the amount of light that gets absorbed by a substance over a range of wavelengths, from ultraviolet (shorter waves that we can't see) to visible (longer waves that we can see).
Scientists use UV-Vis spectroscopy to identify and quantify the presence of different chemicals in a sample. For example, if we shine UV-Vis light on a glass of orange juice, we would see a lot of absorption around the wavelength of orange, since that is the color that is being absorbed by the juice. If we shine UV-Vis light on a sample of blood, we would see different absorption patterns depending on the type of hemoglobin (a protein in blood that carries oxygen) present.
UV-Vis spectroscopy is used in many fields, including chemistry, biology, medicine, and environmental science. It helps us understand the molecular structure of substances and how they interact with light, which can help us develop new drugs, analyze pollutants in the environment, and even detect counterfeit money.
So, UV-Vis spectroscopy is like shining different colors of light on stuff and seeing what colors get absorbed. By doing this, scientists can learn more about the stuff and how it works. Cool, huh?
UV-Vis spectroscopy is a way of measuring how light interacts with matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space, like the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Light is a type of energy that travels in waves and allows us to see things. You know how we can see different colors like red, blue, and green? That's because each color has a different wavelength, which is like the distance between the tops of the waves.
When we shine light on a substance, some of the light gets absorbed and some of it gets reflected. The colors that are absorbed depend on the chemical composition of the substance. UV-Vis spectrophotometry measures the amount of light that gets absorbed by a substance over a range of wavelengths, from ultraviolet (shorter waves that we can't see) to visible (longer waves that we can see).
Scientists use UV-Vis spectroscopy to identify and quantify the presence of different chemicals in a sample. For example, if we shine UV-Vis light on a glass of orange juice, we would see a lot of absorption around the wavelength of orange, since that is the color that is being absorbed by the juice. If we shine UV-Vis light on a sample of blood, we would see different absorption patterns depending on the type of hemoglobin (a protein in blood that carries oxygen) present.
UV-Vis spectroscopy is used in many fields, including chemistry, biology, medicine, and environmental science. It helps us understand the molecular structure of substances and how they interact with light, which can help us develop new drugs, analyze pollutants in the environment, and even detect counterfeit money.
So, UV-Vis spectroscopy is like shining different colors of light on stuff and seeing what colors get absorbed. By doing this, scientists can learn more about the stuff and how it works. Cool, huh?
Related topics others have asked about: