Spectrophotometers

A spectrophotometer is a laboratory equipment which measures the reflection or transmission properties of a material. These tools measure the intensity of a light beam as a function of its color (wavelength). These devices contain a light source which produces a light beam, which passes through a monochromator containing a diffraction grating. This produces a light beam of a specific wavelength, which strikes the sample in a cuvette. Some of the light is absorbed, while the rest is reflected, which is detected by a photomultiplier tube or photodiode. An amplifier increases the signals, which are converted into absorbance and transmission percentage values that can be displayed on an output screen