Editing Spectroscopy (section)

{{Short description|Study involving matter and electromagnetic radiation}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2016}}
[[File:Light dispersion of a mercury-vapor lamp with a flint glass prism IPNr°0125.jpg|thumb|An example of spectroscopy: a [[Prism (optics)|prism]] separates white light by [[Dispersion (optics)|dispersing]] it into its component colors.]]

'''Spectroscopy''' is the field of study that measures and interprets [[electromagnetic spectrum|electromagnetic spectra]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Duckett |first1=Simon |title=Foundations of Spectroscopy |last2=Gilbert |first2=Bruce |publisher=Oxford Science Publications |year=2000 |isbn=978-0198503354}}</ref><ref name="Crouch-Skoog-Holler2007" /> In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of [[color]] as generalized from [[visible light]] to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Spectroscopy, primarily in the electromagnetic spectrum, is a fundamental exploratory tool in the fields of [[astronomy]], [[chemistry]], [[materials science]], and [[physics]], allowing the composition, physical structure and electronic structure of matter to be investigated at the atomic, [[molecule|molecular]] and macro scale, and over [[Distance measures (cosmology)|astronomical distances]].

Historically, spectroscopy originated as the study of the wavelength dependence of the absorption by gas phase matter of visible light dispersed by a [[Prism (optics)|prism]]. Current applications of spectroscopy include [[biomedical spectroscopy]] in the areas of [[tissue (biology)|tissue]] analysis and [[medical imaging]]. [[Matter wave]]s and [[acoustic wave]]s can also be considered forms of radiative energy, and recently [[gravitational wave]]s have been associated with a spectral signature in the context of the [[LIGO|Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory]] (LIGO).<ref>{{Citation |last=Bartusiak |first=Marcia |title=Einstein's Unfinished Symphony: The Story of a Gamble, Two Black Holes, and a New Age of Astronomy |date=2017-06-27 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.12987/9780300228120/html |work=Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony |access-date=2023-05-22 |publisher=Yale University Press |language=en |doi=10.12987/9780300228120 |oclc=1039140043 |isbn=9780300228120|s2cid=246149887 |url-access=subscription }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=6mMlDwAAQBAJ Google Books]</ref>