The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1889-12-19
SPECTRUM ANALYSIS
What Science Learns With the Aid of the
Spectroscope.

The solar spectrum, as shown in the
| rainbow or dewdrop, has always been
familiar object TO mankind, saws the
Aniericaa Andigst but it is only with
in the last quarter of century that the
marvellous facts written in the rays oil
light from the sun and stars have been
revealed to US. Two German scientists,
Bunsen and Kirchoff, first carefully in.
yestigated the phenomena of the spectra
of the light proceeding from various
luminous bodies. and their labors, with
those of others following in their foot
steps, have opened up a field of inyesti-
CATION which is apparently limitless.
One of the most useful applications OF
the spectroscope is TO the analysis oi
different substances. The chemist
would be unable to detect with his re.
agents the presence of small quantities
OF certain elements but let him bring
the substance into the flame OF lamp
and glance through his spectroseope,
and III a moment their presence or alb
seucc is indisputably proved. A ten
thousandth part of grain of sodium
can be easily detected by this means,
and simply clapping his hands near the
flame viii give off enough of this ON
nipresent element to cause its character
istic yellow line to appear at once in
the spectroscope. We have by this
means proved the presence of the rare
element lithium in the blood of a per-
son who has been drinking mineral
water containing a trace of its salts
Not only does spectrum analysis show
Us the presence of familiar elements,
but sometimes lines are observed indi-
eating the presence of those previously
unknown. Basium, rubidum, inidum,
@allium, thallium, and several Others
were thus discovered. although present
III such small quantities that no ordi-
nary re-agent could have discovered
them.
But still more wonderful are the facts
made known to us when we turn the
spectrOscope toward the celestial bod
les. Every ray Of light reaching us
from the sun bears a message which.
with the aid OF the spectroscope, we can
read as easily as We can read those
photographs which are only visible
through a microscope. The characters
of many ancient inscriptions are still I'M
deciphered but the story told by the
little dark lines crossing the spectrum
is perfectly familiar to us, although
only few chapters of it have as vet
been interpreted.
We know that iron, sodium, plati-
mum, and many other elements are
present in the sun in shape of yapor,
and it has been well said that if the
| word iron appeared on the disk of
ho bn of Il
be much less perfect than is that fur
nished by the lines it causes to appear
in the solar spectrum. The spectrum
of fixed stars, comets, nebula, variable
stars, etc, all give us an immense
amount of information concerning
them. We may Judge of the tempera-
ture of the stars and calculate the
speed at which they are moving toward
or from the earth. 1t tells us that
comets are, in part at least, gaseous
| bodies, and distinguished between
those nebula which are simply distant
clusters OF separate stars and those
which are masses of glowing glass not
| yet cooled down to the liquid or solid
state.
The spectroscope shows the presence
of more or less moisture in the upper
air, with the accompanying probability
of rain or fair weather. 1t shows the
presence of the constituents of blood
in solution, besides many other organic
substances; and, finally, the spectrum,
| of the light from certain rare metals
| glowing in vacuum under the influ-
| ence of an electric current proves their
compound nature, although to the
coarse chemical and physical tests they
appear as simple elements.