SPECTROMETER VIVA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: What is a spectrometer?

A: A spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light or other electromagnetic radiation at different wavelengths.

Q: What are the main components of a spectrometer?

A: The main components of a spectrometer are a light source, a collimating lens or mirror, a diffraction grating or prism, a focusing lens or mirror, and a detector.

Q: How does a spectrometer work?

A: A spectrometer works by directing light through a sample and separating the different wavelengths of light using a diffraction grating or prism. The separated wavelengths are then focused onto a detector which measures the intensity of each wavelength.

Q: What is the difference between a spectrometer and a spectrophotometer?

A: A spectrometer measures the intensity of light at different wavelengths, while a spectrophotometer measures the absorbance or transmittance of a sample at different wavelengths.

Q: What are some common applications of spectrometers?

A: Spectrometers are commonly used in analytical chemistry, physics, astronomy, and materials science for various applications such as chemical analysis, measuring the composition of materials, identifying substances, and studying the properties of light.

Q: What is a UV-Vis spectrometer?

A: A UV-Vis spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the absorption or transmission of light in the ultraviolet (UV) and visible (Vis) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Q: What is an infrared spectrometer?

A: An infrared spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the absorption or transmission of light in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Q: What is a mass spectrometer?

A: A mass spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions in a sample.

Q: What is a Raman spectrometer?

A: A Raman spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the Raman scattering of light by molecules in a sample to provide information about the vibrational modes of the molecules.

Q: What is a Fourier transform spectrometer?

A: A Fourier transform spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that uses an interferometer to measure the intensity of light at different wavelengths, and then applies a mathematical technique called Fourier transform to convert the data into a spectrum.

Q: What is a fluorescence spectrometer?

A: A fluorescence spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the fluorescence emission of a sample after it has been excited by a light source.

Q: What is a circular dichroism spectrometer?

A: A circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the differential absorption of left- and right-circularly polarized light by chiral molecules in a sample.

Q: What is a photoelectron spectrometer?

A: A photoelectron spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the kinetic energy and number of electrons emitted from a sample when it is exposed to high-energy photons.

Q: What is a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS)?

A: A SEM-EDS is an imaging instrument that combines a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) to analyze the chemical composition of materials by measuring the X-rays emitted when a sample is bombarded with an electron beam.

Q: What is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer?

A: A time-of-flight mass spectrometer is a type of mass spectrometer that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions by measuring the time it takes for ions to travel a fixed distance in an electric field.

Q: What is a laser-induced breakdown spectrometer (LIBS)?

A: A laser-induced breakdown spectrometer (LIBS) is a type of spectrometer that uses a laser to vaporize and excite a sample, creating a plasma that emits light at different wavelengths that can be analyzed to determine the elemental composition of the sample.

Q: What is a tandem mass spectrometer?

A: A tandem mass spectrometer is a type of mass spectrometer that uses two or more stages of mass analysis to provide more detailed information about the structure and composition of molecules in a sample.

Q: What is a surface plasmon resonance spectrometer?

A: A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the binding of molecules to a surface by detecting changes in the refractive index of the surrounding medium due to the binding events.

Q: What is an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer?

A: An X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the fluorescent X-rays emitted from a sample when it is exposed to high-energy X-rays.

Q: What is a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR)?

A: A Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the absorption or transmission of infrared radiation by a sample and uses Fourier transform to convert the data into a spectrum.

Q: What is a near-infrared spectrometer?

A: A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the absorption or reflection of near-infrared radiation by a sample to provide information about the chemical composition of the sample.

Q: What is a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS)?

A: A gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) is an analytical instrument that combines gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry (MS) to separate and analyze the components of a complex mixture.

Q: What is a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS)?

A: A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS) is an analytical instrument that combines liquid chromatography (LC) with mass spectrometry (MS) to separate and analyze the components of a complex mixture.

Q: What is an atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS)?

A: An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is a type of spectrometer that measures the absorption of light by free atoms in a sample to determine the concentration of an element in the sample.

Q: What is a flame emission spectrometer?

A: A flame emission spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the emission of light by free atoms in a flame to determine the concentration of an element in the sample.

Q: What is a UV-Vis spectrometer?

A: A UV-Vis spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the absorption or transmission of ultraviolet-visible radiation by a sample to provide information about the electronic transitions of molecules in the sample.

Q: What is a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR)?

A: A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei in a sample to provide information about the molecular structure and dynamics of the sample.

Q: What is a scanning tunneling microscope (STM)?

A: A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is an imaging instrument that uses a sharp tip to scan the surface of a sample and measures the flow of electrons between the tip and the sample to create an image of the surface.

Q: What is a confocal microscope?

A: A confocal microscope is an imaging instrument that uses a pinhole to eliminate out-of-focus light and provide optical sectioning of a sample, which allows for 3D imaging of the sample.

Q: What is an electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer (EPR)?

A: An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the magnetic properties of unpaired electrons in a sample to provide information about the electronic structure and dynamics of the sample.

Q: What is a cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM)?

A: A cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is an imaging technique that uses a beam of electrons to image frozen biological samples at cryogenic temperatures, which provides high-resolution 3D images of the samples.

Q: What is a circular dichroism spectrometer (CD)?

A: A circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the differential absorption of left- and right-handed circularly polarized light by a sample, which provides information about the secondary structure and conformational changes of biomolecules.

Q: What is a time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer?

A: A time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that measures the fluorescence decay of a sample over time, which provides information about the fluorescence lifetime and molecular dynamics of the sample.

Q: What is a dual polarisation interferometer (DPI)?

A: A dual polarisation interferometer (DPI) is a type of spectrometer that measures the refractive index of a sample using interferometry, which provides information about the thickness, density, and other properties of the sample.

Q: What is a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) spectrometer?

A: A laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) spectrometer is a type of spectrometer that uses a laser to generate a plasma from a sample, which emits light that is analyzed to determine the elemental composition of the sample.

Q: What is a total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM)?

A: A total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM) is an imaging instrument that uses total internal reflection of light to selectively illuminate the surface of a sample and provide high-resolution fluorescence imaging of molecules near the surface.

Q: What is an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS)?

A: An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) is an analytical instrument that uses plasma to ionize a sample and then measures the mass-to-charge ratio of the ions to identify and quantify the chemical components of the sample.

Q: What is a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF MS)?

A: A matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF MS) is an analytical instrument that uses a laser to ionize a sample and then measures the time-of-flight of the ions to identify and quantify the chemical components of the sample.

Q: What is an electrochemical impedance spectrometer (EIS)?

A: An electrochemical impedance spectrometer (EIS) is a type of spectrometer that measures the impedance of an electrochemical system as a function of frequency, which provides information about the electron transfer processes and other electrochemical properties of the system.