Material Detail

Joseph Fraunhofer, (ennobled in 1824 as Ritter von Fraunhofer) was a German optician.He is known for the discovery of the dark absorption lines known as Fraunhofer lines in the Sun's spectrum, and for making excellent optical glass and achromatic telescope objectives.

A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from a deficiency or excess of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used as a sort of "atomic fingerprint," as gases emit light at very specific frequencies when exposed to electromagnetic waves, which are displayed in the form of spectral lines. These "fingerprints" can be compared to the previously collected fingerprints of elements, and are thus used to identify the molecular construct of stars and planets which would otherwise be impossible.

This will delete the comment from the database. This operation is not reversible. Are you sure you want to do it?

Thank you for reporting a broken "Go to Material" link in MERLOT to help us maintain a collection of valuable learning materials.

If you feel this material is inappropriate for the MERLOT Collection, please click SEND REPORT, and the MERLOT Team will investigate. Thank you!

You are being taken to the material on another site. This will open a new window.

Do not show me this again