How Machinery Has Revolutionized Our Understanding of Science: The Impacts of Spectroscopy Devices

By ​Sophia Berquo

Many of the innovations that transform our lives do so silently, and scientific machinery is amongst one of the most overlooked. As we take on our daily lives, sometimes coming across an article about a new scientific discovery, we don’t even stop to realize the developments and instrumentation necessary to achieve this feat. 

Spectroscopy may sound like a long, abstract, word, but it has meaning embedded in its roots. “Spectro-”, which comes from the latin work “spectrum”, means image or appearance, while “-scopy”, from the Greek word “skopia”, means observation (Merriam Webster 2013). Together, these roots demonstrate how, at its core, spectroscopy focuses on studying how images produced from interactions can be used to analyze matter. Specifically, this occurs by analyzing how matter interacts with electromagnetic radiation (NASA n.d.). Since different wavelengths carry different energies, different wavelengths determine how much light is absorbed, emitted and scattered by a substance. Based on how the solution or object being analyzed reacts with this wave, spectroscopy has made it possible to identify what element is present, its composition, structure and physical properties of the materials (Chu et al. 2026). 
This works almost as if each mixture, solution, or element, has a “fingerprint” when reacting with light. When light at high energy is applied to these analytes, they break up in fragments, and the different bonds present in them absorb different wavelengths of the light applied. This produces graphs with peaks at different regions of the spectrum, allowing for one to distinguish between different possible components (Ashenhurst 2016). An example of this is how every Oxygen-Hydrogen bond, known as O-H, will produce the same absorption band on a spectroscopy graph. Every mixture or compound that contains an O-H bond will have a peak corresponding to it in the same wavelength range and, although different components may alter the presence of other peaks, this peak will correspond to the presence of one specific bond, acting as its “identification”, or “fingerprint” (Roberts and Caserio n.d.). 
But, how did someone even think to make this machine a reality? In 1814, Joseph Von Fraunhopher developed the first spectroscope with diffraction gratings. These are surfaces with closely spaced lines that separate light into its different wavelengths, and is based on the concept that a prism splits white light into a spectrum—an idea established by Isaac Newton in the 1600’s. 45 years later, Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen found that the lines in Fraunhopher’s device corresponded to different emission spectral lines. This allowed them to evolve the science within Fraunhopher’s machinery to encompass chemical elements and their wave patterns they produce when in contact with different wavelengths. Their findings officially established the basis for analytical spectroscopy, as they showed how the scientific technique was used to identify the presence of eight different elements in common compounds (Silicann 2022). 
By building on the discoveries of other scientists, the journey to the spectroscopy found nowadays in labs reflects the necessity of an abundance of discoveries in the scientific community. In laboratories, spectroscopy can be utilized to investigate presence of elements in different mixtures, or even to understand the chemical structure of a specific compound (Excedr 2024). It is by learning from one another, and analysing the findings and inventions of other people in the field, that science continues to evolve. Nowadays, spectroscopy is indispensable to the world. Its applications in diverse industries include pharmaceutical quality control, environmental monitoring of water and air, medical diagnoses, determination of elements in astronomy, as well as therapeutic and healing methodologies. 
What once was nothing more than the concept of light through a prism in the 1600’s has evolved into a machine essential in our daily lives, as well as in producing new discoveries. The spectroscopy machine revolutionized our understanding of science first through what its existence reflected about scientific concepts, and subsequently about the discoveries and analysis it is used for today. Nowadays, chip-scale spectrometers are being developed, as well as hand-held devices, allowing spectrometral analysis to delve deeper and become more accessible than ever before (Wetzel 2026). What was before an idea that had not come to life is now used to uncover and concretize new ideas. My only question that remains is, what will be the next discovery that will develop machineries and consequently our world even more?
References
1. Chu, S., Hurst, G.S., Stoner, J.O., Graybeal, J.D. (2026, February 20). spectroscopy. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/spectroscopy
2. Excedr. (2024, August 29). What is spectroscopy & how is it used in the lab? https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-spectroscopy
3. James Ashenhurst. (2016, November 23). Quick analysis of IR spectra. Master Organic Chemistry. https://www.masterorganicchemistry.com/2016/11/23/quick_analysis_of_ir_spectra/
4. NASA. (n.d.). Spectroscopy 101: Types of spectra and spectroscopy. NASA Science. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/science-overview/science-explainers/spectroscopy-101-types-of-spectra-and-spectroscopy/
5. Prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms. (2013, April 25). Yumpu. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/13393066/prefixes-suffixes-and-combining-forms
6. Roberts, J. D., & Caserio, M. C. (n.d.). 15.3: Spectroscopic properties of alcohols. In Basic principles of organic chemistry. Chemistry LibreTexts. https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Basic_Principles_of_Organic_Chemistry_(Roberts_and_Caserio)/15%3A_Alcohols_and_Ethers/15.03%3A_Spectroscopic_Properties_of_Alcohols
7. Silicann. (2022, March 28). History of spectroscopy. https://www.en.silicann.com/blog/post/history-of-spectroscopy/
8. Wetzel, W. (2026, April 16). The rise of portable and handheld spectroscopy. Spectroscopy Online. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-rise-of-portable-and-handheld-spectroscopy