
Building a Simple Spectroscope (2016) - DanBC
http://scitoys.com/spectroscope.html
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kelsolaar
I made one that is a bit more solid and (slightly) more expensive with a PVC
tube and a diffraction grating a few years ago:
[https://thomasmansencal.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-homemade-
spec...](https://thomasmansencal.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-homemade-
spectroscope.html). With a good DSLR camera, it produces really nice spectra.
There is a companion repository to slice and undistort the spectra given known
emission lines: [https://github.com/colour-science/colour-
spectroscope](https://github.com/colour-science/colour-spectroscope)

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DanBC
I submitted this because it's a neat and simple thing to make (although
obviously watch out for the razor blades, using one to make a slit in heavy
duty aluminium foil might be a better idea) abut also because the site is full
of simple science toys.

The polariscope is also fun and easy enough to make:
[https://scitoys.com/polariscope.html](https://scitoys.com/polariscope.html)

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jsjohnst
I’d say the “(2016)” isn’t needed for something like this, but thanks for
posting. Definitely going to build some of the stuff there.

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knolan
There is also the paper craft spectrometer kits sold by the Public Lab. I
can’t find the version I bought which included a cheap USB board camera but
here is a smartphone version:

[https://publiclab.org/wiki/papercraft-
spectrometer](https://publiclab.org/wiki/papercraft-spectrometer)

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jacquesm
Very neat. The spectrum of the sun was recorded in much the same way long ago,
the film ran for 100's of feet to get very high resolution spectra. These were
then used to determine the composition of the Sun.

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mobilemidget
interest read, though please fix website, you are leaking important
information

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selected the timezone 'UTC' for now. in
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i_am_nomad
Is there a public database of spectral lines that would enable you to do some
kind of lookup, and determine the chemistry of what the spectroscope is
looking at?

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joshvm
NIST
[https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/ASD/lines_form.html](https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/ASD/lines_form.html)

Used a lot for calibration to match arc spectra to catalogue emission lines.

Harder in general because these "toy" spectrometers have poor resolution so a
lot of lines get blended or broadened. You can also look at spectra on Public
Labs' online database to compare to.

A lot of stuff you're likely to look at is well characterised eg hydrogen
lines in a Solar spectrum, or emission lines from a lamp containing mercury.

