How Spectroscopy Changed the World

Did spectroscopy, the study of how light is emitted and absorbed by heated objects, really revolutionize the sciences and fundamentally shift our understanding of the world?  In short… yes!  In Chemistry, spectroscopy quickly caused the identification of new elements and infrared spectroscopy is still used in chemical analysis to this very day. 

In Astronomy, spectroscopy allowed us to figure out what the sun and stars are composed of and is still the most powerful tool in an Astronomer’s to...