Spectrography

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The technique of producing and studying spectra of light or other radiation ; a photographic or graphic image that records the spectrum produced
2. The scientific practice of recording and examining spectral patterns ; a visual image that captures the spread of wavelengths from a source
3. Methods for measuring and analyzing the spectrum of radiation emitted or absorbed ; the resulting chart or photograph showing the spectral lines

Etymology: "Spectrography" is a compound built from "spectro-", a combining form of "spectrum", and the suffix "-graphy", from Greek "graphia", meaning "writing" or "recording" (the same element found in "photography" and "biography"). Put together, the word names the act of recording a spectrum: capturing the light a substance emits or absorbs and fixing its pattern of colours or wavelengths on a plate or film. The first part traces back to Latin "spectrum", "appearance" or "apparition", from "specere", "to look at". Isaac Newton's use of the word for the band of colours produced when sunlight passes through a prism gave the term its modern scientific sense in the 17th century, and the idea behind "spectrography" followed once photographic plates could record that band permanently. The combining form "spectro-" then became a productive prefix for a family of instrument and technique names.

Synonyms: spectroscopy, spectrometry