spectroscopy

[ spek-tros-kuh-pee, spek-truh-skoh-pee ]

/ spɛkˈtrɒs kə pi, ˈspɛk trəˌskoʊ pi /

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noun

the science that deals with the use of the spectroscope and with spectrum analysis.

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Origin of spectroscopy

First recorded in 1865–70; spectro- + -scopy

OTHER WORDS FROM spectroscopy

spec·tros·co·pist

[spek-tros-kuh-pist], /spɛkˈtrɒs kə pɪst/, noun

Words nearby spectroscopy

spectropolariscope, spectroradiometer, spectroscope, spectroscopic analysis, spectroscopic binary, spectroscopy, spectrum, spectrum analyser, spectrum analysis, spectrum disorder, specular

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spectroscopy in a sentence

Coupling adaptive optics with spectroscopy allowed them to measure the full orbit of a star they’d been tracking, called S0-2.
Skywatcher|Anne-Marie Corley, SM ’09|October 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Michelin and colleagues unraveled this mystery using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.
Ink analysis reveals Marie Antoinette’s letters’ hidden words and who censored them|Carolyn Gramling|October 1, 2021|Science News
About 600 minerals are confirmed to glow in the dark, says Glen Waychunas, a mineralogist who studies fluorescence and spectroscopy at the California Institute of Technology.
How minerals and rocks reflect rainbows, glow in the dark, and otherwise blow your mind|Lauren Leffer|June 28, 2021|Popular-Science
It would use radar and near-infrared spectroscopy to peer below the planet’s thick clouds and observe the geology and topography of its surface.
NASA is ending its 30-year Venus drought with two new missions|Neel V. Patel|June 2, 2021|MIT Technology Review

It will use spectroscopy to find out what the soil is made of, measure magnetic fields on the ground, and track weather changes like temperature and winds.
China has landed a rover on Mars for the first time—here’s what happens next|Neel V. Patel|May 17, 2021|MIT Technology Review
One of the most fruitful fields for this instrument is undoubtedly stellar spectroscopy.
Photographs of Nebul and Clusters|James Edward Keeler
Oscar Brasch has within the last few years studied spectroscopy in relation to the alkaloids and organic poisons.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth
It is to Sir William Huggins, however, that we are indebted for the application of the principle to spectroscopy.
Astronomy of To-day|Cecil G. Dolmage
In the earliest days of spectroscopy the spectra of the stars were classified according to their visual spectra.
Lectures on Stellar Statistics|Carl Vilhelm Ludvig Charlier
The basis of spectroscopy is the prism, which separates sunlight into seven colors and projects a band of light called a spectrum.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 288|Various

British Dictionary definitions for spectroscopy

spectroscopy

/ (spɛkˈtrɒskəpɪ) /

noun

the science and practice of using spectrometers and spectroscopes and of analysing spectra, the methods employed depending on the radiation being examined. The techniques are widely used in chemical analysis and in studies of the properties of atoms, molecules, ions, etc

Derived forms of spectroscopy

spectroscopist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for spectroscopy

spectroscopy

[ spĕk-trŏs′kə-pē ]

The analysis of spectra, especially light or mass spectra, to determine properties of their source.♦ In light or optical spectroscopy, the spectrum of a light source is analyzed through a spectroscope to determine atomic composition of a substance. In astronomy, phenomena such as red shift can also be analyzed.♦ In mass spectroscopy, a spectroscope is used to determine the composition of ions or charged molecules in a sample. Spectroscopy is also called spectrography. See also atomic spectrum spectroscope.

Cultural definitions for spectroscopy

spectroscopy

[ (spek-tros-kuh-pee) ]

The branch of science devoted to discovering the chemical composition of materials by looking at the light (and other kinds of electromagnetic radiation) they emit. Scientists use spectroscopy to determine the nature of distant stars and galaxies as well as to identify and monitor the production of products in factories.