Light Spectrum Lab

Throughout the beginning of the first quarter we studied light spectrums. To demonstrate concepts of light and energy and their relation to the behavior of electrons in atoms. We used spectroscopes that revealed the different spectrums of various lights and gases. The spectroscopes helped in order to see the different colors, a.k.a wavelengths of light. We ultimately weren't just focused on the lights, but the spectrum in which the lights were giving off through the spectroscope.


The first light in which we analyzed was regular white light. This light simply was to help us learn to use the spectroscopes. The whole point of looking at a regular light is so we can get a general view of the continuous light spectrum of ROYGBIV. Within this regular light all the colors within the spectrum were visible with no breaks in between. This ultimately concludes that this light produces all the different possible wavelengths of light.

The next light we then looked at was the regular light with a red liquid placed in front of it. According to my observations with a bit of research the reasoning behind this spectrum missing the blue spectrum is that the red water absorbed the wavelengths corresponding with the blue light.

We then look at the white light with a blue liquid placed in front of it. As with both the waters placed in front of the light, some color from the spectrum went missing and as with this one the orange color was absorbed by the blue liquid and left a black place where its wavelength once resided.

After observing both absorption (wavelengths absorbed) and the continuous (all wavelengths shown) spectrums with the white light and the blue and red liquids we then moved onto other elements in their gas forms. Some of the elements we looked at included neon, helium, hydrogen, and iodine. In order to see the light within these gases a high voltage current had to be passed through the tubes containing the gases until the energy was high enough to see the light spectrum.

This is a picture of a neon light spectrum. As you can see most all of the colors of ROYGBIV are present but within this spectrum the black space lies between the yellow and green wavelengths.

When we observed Helium, it emitted red, orange, green and blue light, with black spaces separating the red, orange, and green wavelengths.

Next came a hydrogen spectrum. Within this spectrum it became very interesting when we viewed it simply because only three of the color bands were actually emitted or shown by the light it produced.

Iodine spectrum contained just about all of the ROYGBIV color spectrum excluding the indigo color. 

The color spectrum is a very unique attribute to the vies of light. ROYGBIV is simply the full spectrum and contains different energy levels for each of the colors produced. The highest frequency level lies with the violet wavelength whereas the lowest resides in the red wavelength. These colors are most easily seen when they are traveling from their "excited state" to their "ground state." By participating in this lab I have learned that each element gives off its own light spectrum. I have come to realize that even the simplest things such as placing colored water in front of a light ray can change its color spectrum depending on which color is absorbed. Overall the light spectrum has more to it then we may believe and the possibilities of the changing spectrum are endless and can vary in multiple ways, but I suppose thats why it is a part of science!