Look at a light source reflected in a CD and you can see its spectrum.
A small bright light source such as a minimag light makes a
nice linear spectrum reflected in a CD
Look at a light source reflected in a CD and you can see its spectrum.
A small bright light source such as a minimag light makes a
nice linear spectrum reflected in a CD
Material
Small light sources, or distant light sources. A minimaglight with the reflector removed is a great light source.
Never look at the sun even reflected in a CD.
A compact disk. (All music CD's work, computer CD's should be recorded until they are nearly full.)
To Do and Notice
Use the CD as a mirror and find the reflected image of a small light in the CD.
Rotate the CD or move your head until you see a spectrum of light.
What's Going On?
The CD has closely spaced spiral tracks of pits which record digital information. The tracks are separated by 1.6 micrometers, 1.6 x 10-6 m.
These tracks act as grooves which diffract light
Each color of light is diffracted through a different angle. Thus a white light source which emitting a wide range of colors is spread into a spectrum by the CD.
To make a good spectrum the light source should have a small angular size, thus it should be small and close, but it could be large and distant as well.
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Scientific Explorations with Paul Doherty |
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15 May 2004 |