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Chemistry vocabulary · Analytical Methods

Spectroscopy

Meaning in chemistry, with examples

/spekˈtrɒskəpi/nounCore term

In chemistry, spectroscopy means: The study of how matter absorbs or emits light and other radiation, used to identify substances and measure their amounts. UV-Vis, IR and NMR are common types.

In Turkish: spektroskopi

How it is used

Used in analytical and organic chemistry to find structures and concentrations. You record or run a spectrum and analyze a sample by spectroscopy. The instrument is a spectrometer or spectrophotometer; the plural of 'spectrum' is 'spectra'.

Example sentences

  1. We confirmed the structure using IR and NMR spectroscopy.

  2. UV-Vis spectroscopy is a quick way to measure the concentration of colored solutions.

Common collocations

  • IR spectroscopy
  • UV-Vis spectroscopy
  • NMR spectroscopy
  • record a spectrum
  • NMRShort for nuclear magnetic resonance: a method that places a sample in a strong magnetic field and uses radio waves to show how the hydrogen or carbon atoms in a molecule are arranged.
  • mass spectrometryAn analysis method that turns molecules into ions, separates the ions by their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) and uses the result to find molecular mass and structure.
  • calibration curveA graph of instrument signal against the known concentrations of several standards. The concentration of an unknown sample is read from it using the sample's signal.
  • chromatographyA group of methods that separate the parts of a mixture as they travel at different speeds through a stationary phase, carried by a moving liquid or gas called the mobile phase.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Analytical Methods

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