Spectroscopy: New Uses and Implications

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.

Spectroscopy is a powerful technique that utilizes the interaction of light with matter. Analysis of various spectra can yield important physical characteristics of matter, including chemical composition, temperature, luminosity, mass, and more. The uses and implications of spectroscopy are very broad, with practical uses in many fields of science, including astronomy, medicine, analytic chemistry, material science, geology, and more. Researchers are constantly discovering new applications of spectroscopy, and it is expected to play an ever-increasing role in nanotechnology and superconductivity. This book brings together a diverse collection of new research advances in spectroscopy.

Roy H. Williams is an astronomer and educator at the Kopernik Observatory in Vestal, New York. He has trained on the spectrograph and is certified in both earth science and physical science. He has taught in several colleges. He writes a monthly column in the Press & Sun-Bulletin newspaper (Binghamton, NY) and makes monthly live appearances on local television newscasts. He also helped to create a computerized sky atlas using Turbo Pascal and in his role at Kopernik Observatory has worked with both astronaut Dan Bursch and astronomer John Dobson.