Spectrometry
spectrometry

The Public Lab spectrometry project is an open source community effort to develop low-cost spectrometers for a range of purposes. All open spectrometry hardware and software efforts are welcome here! **Join in by:** * Learning [what spectrometry is](#Whats+spectrometry) * Reading about goals and [asking great questions](#Frequently+Asked+Questions) * Building a basic spectrometer using [one of our starter kits](#Starter+Kits) * Trying (and critiquing) our [community-made how-to guides](#Activities) and posting your own * Building on others’ work; hack and remix the kits to refine and expand them * [Share your upgrades](#Upgrades) for others to try -- and perhaps for inclusion in an upcoming starter kit release or add-on kit **** ## Starter Kits Public Lab’s Kits initiative offers several starter kits, including many of the basic components, and instructions for constructing a basic visible light spectrometer. The point of the kits is to provide a shared reference design for building experimental setups onto. Lego Spectrometer Kit Our most recent kit, incorporating community improvements while balancing low cost and ease of construction. Choose between webcam and Raspberry Pi camera versions and build attachments width standard Lego connectors. Build one Buy one Papercraft Spectrometry Intro Kit A $9 paper spectrometer which you can attach to a smartphone or webcam. It’s made of paper to reduce cost and complexity, and is mainly intended as an “introductory” or educational kit. The flat design can be printed on a laser printer or photocopied to make more. Build one Buy one **** ## Activities This is a list of community-generated guides for specific applications using your spectrometry setup (either a [starter kit](#Starter+Kits) or a [modded design](#Upgrades)). These [activities can be categorized](https://publiclab.org/wiki/activity-categories), and some may be more reproduced -- or reproducible -- than others. Try them out to build your skills, and help improve them by leaving comments. Together, we can repeat and refine the activities into experiments. > **Note:** If you are working on an **urgent issue** such as a threat to your or someone else’s health, please know that these techniques may not be ready for your use; it's possible that they never will be. [Read more here](/notes/gretchengehrke/09-29-2016/common-low-cost-technique-limitations) ### Activity grid [activities:spectrometry] **** ## Upgrades Have you added to your starter kit, improved it, or redesigned it? Show others how to take it to the next level by posting a build guide here: [upgrades:spectrometry] Add your upgrade guide here Request or propose an upgrade _Mods should include a parts list and a step-by-step construction guide with photo documentation. See an example._ **** ## Challenges We're working to refine and improve DIY spectrometry on a number of fronts; here, take a look at the leading challenges we're hoping to solve, and post your own. For now, we're using the Q&A feature, so just click "Ask a question" to post your own challenge. Be sure to add: * constraints: expense, complexity * goals: performance, use cases [questions:spectrometry-challenge] **** ## Builds There’s a lot going on in open source spectrometry -- if you’ve developed another open source design you’d like to show others how to construct, post it here! * [RamanPi](https://hackaday.io/project/1279-ramanpi-raman-spectrometer) * [Hackteria “drop”-style spectrometers](https://publiclab.org/notes/gaudi/04-03-2014/diy-micro-volume-spectrophotometer) / [DIY NanoDrop on Hackteria.org](http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_NanoDrop) * _Add yours here_ ##What's spectrometry? Colored light is often a blend of different colors. A spectrometer is a device which splits those colors apart, like a prism, and measures the strength of each color. A typical output of a spectrometer looks like this spectrum of the daytime sky, with the actual light spectrum at the top and the graph of wavelength (horizontal axis, in nanometers of wavelength) and intensity (vertical axis) below: [![sky.png](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/005/455/original/sky.png)](https://spectralworkbench.org/analyze/spectrum/19882) > Needed: overview of spectra, calibration, units, comparison, and fluorescence/absorption. Please edit this page or link to a resource, potentially [the Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectroscopy), although that's quite full of technical jargon. ## Software Spectral data can be analyzed with https://spectralworkbench.org to create spectra plots, find centers of emissions plots, and find similar spectra. Data also can be exported in various formats (JSON, CSV, XML) for further analysis and visualization. ## How does this compare to a lab instrument? The [Desktop Spectrometry Starter Kit](/wiki/desktop-spectrometry-kit-3-0) is only one part in an experimental setup, and the following shows where it fits in an overall diagram of a lab spectrometric setup: [![tmp_31873-IMG_20161027_101601_2-79757779.jpg](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/018/635/large/tmp_31873-IMG_20161027_101601_2-79757779.jpg)](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/018/635/original/tmp_31873-IMG_20161027_101601_2-79757779.jpg) [![tmp_31873-IMG_20161027_095939_2-108076392.jpg](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/018/636/large/tmp_31873-IMG_20161027_095939_2-108076392.jpg)](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/018/636/original/tmp_31873-IMG_20161027_095939_2-108076392.jpg) There are many, many different types of spectrometry and spectrometers -- many don’t even measure light. Even among those that do, some detect light in the ultraviolet range, and others in the infrared range of light. The range of Public Lab spectrometers depends on the range of the commercially available cameras we attach them to (~400-700 nanometer wavelengths). A commercially available product with a slightly wider range (from 335 to 1000 nanometers) is [available from Cole Parmer](http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/Cole_Parmer_Visible_spectrophotometer_335_to_1000_nm_wavelength_range_analog_output/UX-83055-10). **** ## Frequently Asked Questions [questions:spectrometry] Note our previous Frequently Asked Questions page, which [can be found here »](/wiki/spectrometer-faq) -- please help port these into the new system, here!...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
Ag8n "I think your best bet is to call ocean optics. They used to be open to experimentation with their equipment. Unfortunately, the last time I dealt..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "I don't plan on making the modifications in the near future. If someone else would like to try it, feel free. To me, this is the initial investig..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
bhamster "I'm still in the information-gathering stage, so unfortunately haven't done any tests myself yet! Thanks for the heads up about the standard test. ..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "Thank you for the help. Have you used ASTM D6592-1? It was written in 2001 and removed in 2010 (apparently for no revalidation). But it used chem..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
bhamster "Oh good point, and helpful to know that using chemi- or bioluminescence eases certain specs on materials. I'm going to keep looking into this, than..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "Thank you for the papers. Still working my way through them. Wanted to comment on the difference between chemi-,bio-,and straight luminescence. ..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "A big problem with this type of instrument isn't the concept. That's not too hard. It's getting the reaction to go at a decent rate. Not too fas..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "The blood analyzer instruments from say 2000 were good, but not an order of magnitude better than those of a few years earlier. What was different..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
bhamster "Oh, super interesting idea! I don't know the answer, but have found some related research on fluorescence spectroscopy to detect wastewater. There..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
liz "Very welcome news! Thanks @warren @icarito @waridox !!! " | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "Looks great! " | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "If a source like the sun or an incandescent lamp is used, then maybe using a photographic bg20 filter as a standard would do. The spectrum they a..." | Read more » almost 3 years ago
Ag8n "There is a closely related chemical recently added to the USP for uv/vis standardization. It is a solution of didymium. Some places also use a gl..." | Read more » almost 3 years ago
Ag8n "https://youtu.be/u5tUmdWALn0 Hopefully, this link works to the video " | Read more » almost 3 years ago
Ag8n "Of you take a look at commercial instruments, they will usually use holmium oxide or other holmium salts for calibration. Great. These salts are ..." | Read more » almost 3 years ago
Ag8n "Found something.It's a YouTube post by chem_talk on neodymium. It's a long way from complete, but according to the post, this rare earth isn't rar..." | Read more » almost 3 years ago
warren "Hola Edith! Lo siento que no son en español pero se puede encontrar algunos actividades en relación a la ley de Beer aqui: http://publiclab.org/se..." | Read more » almost 3 years ago
david_uwi " spectrometer16f.gcb.txt " | Read more » almost 3 years ago
bhamster "I did this! " | Read more » almost 3 years ago
solaris2020 "Thank you for example of the device circuit diagram. It based on microprocessor. Without example of firmware the circuit diagram meant almost noth..." | Read more » about 3 years ago
liz "FYI - this is posted as a question here: https://publiclab.org/notes/carmatic/02-24-2021/alternatives-to-cfl-for-calibration " | Read more » about 3 years ago
carmatic "hello, I'm trying to look for fluorescent bulbs but they are being phased out where I live and are becoming harder and harder to find is there an a..." | Read more » about 3 years ago
jterning "Hi, I am confused! My calibration looks ok but is I take a spectrum from a red LED screen I get something crazy: thanks, John " | Read more » about 3 years ago
warren "Gosh, sorry for the late response! When you haven't yet completed the calibration, the numbers shown are for pixel position, not wavelength. Once y..." | Read more » about 3 years ago