Using homemade spectrometers to perform accurate measurements of discrete and continuous spectra

Abstract

Homemade spectrometers are commonly used tools to analyze light sources and determine its physical characteristics. We perform an assessment of homemade spectrometers in terms of spectral resolution and accuracy in the determination of intensity, through the comparison of results with a spectroscope commonly used in the physics and chemistry labs. We found that the homemade spectrometer used is sufficiently accurate in wavelength, and can be used by undergraduate students to perform precise measurements as, for example, the spectrum of the Sun, leading to the determination of its temperature.

Teaching Physics through Astronomy: an object-based approach

“…Examples of homemade versions of this spectroscope for educational purposes have been discussed in Physics Education literature [19][20][21]. It can used both for qualitative observation and comparison of spectra, as well as for some quantitative aspects such as estimating the wavelengths emitted from a source.…”