The basic physics of spectroscopy: Light-matter interaction for fun and profit

This first session of a four-part ‘Fundamentals of Spectroscopy’ course, will examine core concepts essential to understanding common optical spectroscopy methods.

In this session, Adam Wise, and applications specialist from Andor will explain how light – an electromagnetic wave – passes through, bounces off, gets absorbed by, and is made by, atoms, molecules and solids. This session is in no way designed to replace a long and rigorous course of study, but instead tries to show a physical model of the language used to describe spectroscopy, as well as define a common vocabulary that will be relied on as the course continues.

Key learning objectives

• Understand that what a spectrometer ‘sees’ differs from our perception of color, both in terms of finer resolution, and no hard limits on the energies of light that can be detected
• Discover a simple but meaningful model of how the electric field of light interacts with electrical charges in atoms and molecules
• Recognize how the wavelength and energy of light relate to different size scales and emission/absorption processes within atoms, molecules, and bulk matter

Who should attend?

• Academic Researcher
• R&D Scientist
• Lab Technician
• Principal Investigator
• Laboratory Manager
• Manager
• Postdoctoral Research Assistant
• Corporate Manager
• PhD Student
• Undergraduate Student
• Engineer or Software Engineer
• Teaching Fellow

Presenter: Adam Wise (Andor Technology)

Adam Wise is an applications scientist at Andor Technology, specializing in spectroscopy and scientific cameras. He earned his PhD working with John Grey at the University of New Mexico, studying Raman spectroscopy of organic semiconductors. After his postdoctoral research at UMass Amherst, Wise entered the field of optical instrumentation, and continues to support research by helping scientists get the right cutting-edge tools.

Presenter: Georgina Wynne Hughes (Editorial Team)

Georgina studied at Birmingham University where she gained a BSc in Biomedical Science, and an MSc by Research in Cancer and Genomic Sciences, which focused on defective autophagy in rare neurodegenerative diseases. As a member of the Editorial team, she now plays an integral role in shaping the content on SelectScience.