@PublicLab

@lizbarry

Reading rainbows:

the physicality of light

foldable spectrometer:

Other kinds of DIY spectrometers:

spectralworkbench.org:

Many detergents claim to be “free and clear” or something similar, but still contain this dye. To check these claims, I shone UV light on detergent samples, and compared the resulting spectra to a baseline UV spectrum...detergents using the dye absorbed [UV] light...and re-emitted it in lower-energy areas, usually around blue or cyan. Those that showed little change from the baseline UV spectrum do not....Using this process, we chose to use a detergent that did not use this dye.

Josh McIlvain September 2012

Concepts:

light passes

through material,

creating a unique

“rainbow”

Skills:

assemble a

paper craft

spectrometer • slit

• 45 degree camera

• de-laminated DVD

Skills:

Fold a box into an

oil testing station• Desktop spectrometer

• Blue lasers

• Sample bottles of oil

• Spectralworkbench.org

Attitudes:

cultivating an

investigatory

outlook on the

world around you