MAKE: Noise — Discuss this article

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• Safety Spectrometer - Great Project
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  This is a great project but its clearly a starting point for greater things.
  

  
  I think its a great pity that you didnt explain a bit about the limitations and strengths of this type of spectroscopy, or privide pointers to additional material. For example, how far can you go with adding more LED's covering other wavelengths. Presumably colourless liquids can never be analysed by this technique? Or did I get that wrong, perhaps they are not colourless to UV/IR. What other uses can we use something like this for? So it can detect a sample of Olive oil, well so can I! Can it tell the difference between Olive oil and rapeseed oil say? Can it detect adulterated foodstuffs? Pesticides? Can it measure.
  

  
  I think a final paragraph saying how pleased you were (or not !)with what it can do in spite of the limitatations would be useful.
  

  
  I've googled for this type of material and although I found 2 or three similar spectrometers of similar complexity very few people discus how far this could go.
  

  
  
  So far as safety in airports is concerned surely many dangerous substances are near colourless any way and so beyond analysis by spectrometer?
  

  
  Thank you so much for setting me thinking about this.
  

  Posted by thedoktor on July 02, 2008 at 00:45:03 Pacific Time

• Safety Spectrometer - Great Project
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  The article is a starting point to spark the imagination to MAKE different projects based on spectrometry. I believe that I covered most of your points in the article with the exception of providing references. Additional information is readily available through Google type searches. I am glad that you enjoyed the article and if you have specific questions about how to use spectrometry in your project please feel free to ask.
  
  Eric Rosenthal

  Posted by WA2BVR on July 02, 2008 at 05:50:34 Pacific Time

• PPM OF A COMPOUND
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  Down to how many PPM will the spectrometer work? How can it be used to determine a type of stone?

  Posted by PHARMBOY on May 27, 2008 at 17:40:04 Pacific Time

• PPM OF A COMPOUND
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  The accuracy of the spectrometer is dependent on the types and color of the lamps used to illuminate the sample. The lamps used in the article are broad spectrum lamps that do not result in much accuracy. However, the liquids can be identified none the less.

  Posted by WA2BVR on May 27, 2008 at 18:03:06 Pacific Time