Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
🔬 Light Spectrum Experiments: DIY with Diffraction Grating & Spectrometer Analysis
In this technical video, I demonstrate a simple DIY experiment using a holographic diffraction grating to observe Fraunhofer lines (solar absorption lines).
The setup is followed by a series of measurements using an Ocean Optics USB2000 laboratory spectrometer.
In addition to the solar spectrum, the video also explores fluorescence phenomena, using olive oil illuminated by a blue LED as an example.
📌 Keywords: diffraction grating, optics, spectrometer, Ocean Optics, USB2000
▬▬ 🕒 Video Chapters:
00:00 – Experiment with holographic diffraction grating (visual observation of solar spectrum)
01:54 – Spectrometer measurements: Fraunhofer lines & fluorescence (olive oil + blue LED)
05:07 – Other technical videos on this YouTube channel
▬▬ 🔗 Useful Links (Spectrometry, Radiometry, and Photometry):
• Holographic Diffraction Grating Film, Edmund Optics #54-510 — edmundoptics.com/f/holographic-diffraction-grating-film/11661
• Schematic of the DIY Experiment Setup — https://i.imgur.com/QLZhsdH.png
• Color, CIE diagram (notebooks, Observable platform) — observablehq.com/collection/@christophe-yamahata/colour
• "Human vision and the CIE chromaticity diagram" (technical report, EN) — dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31371.30242
• The "Geometry" of Colours (video, EN) — youtube.com/watch?v=7KYwi2F5Ce4
• "Broadband radiometric measurement of light-emitting diodes with a photodiode" (white paper, EN) — dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34765.05600/2
• Fraunhofer Lines — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunhofer_lines / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_spectral_irradiance.svg
• "Why you can't take a good picture of a rainbow" (video, Steve Mould) — youtube.com/watch?v=HauiF_AQUIY
• "It's a double rainbow all the way!" (viral video, Yosemitebear) — youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI
No discussion about rainbows would be complete without mentioning the legendary viral video by Yosemitebear.
It went viral for its genuine emotional reaction, paired with rather poor color reproduction.
🔬 Light Spectrum Experiments: DIY with Diffraction Grating & Spectrometer Analysis
In this technical video, I demonstrate a simple DIY experiment using a holographic diffraction grating to observe Fraunhofer lines (solar absorption lines).
The setup is followed by a series of measurements using an Ocean Optics USB2000 laboratory spectrometer.
In addition to the solar spectrum, the video also explores fluorescence phenomena, using olive oil illuminated by a blue LED as an example.
📌 Keywords: diffraction grating, optics, spectrometer, Ocean Optics, USB2000
▬▬ 🕒 Video Chapters:
00:00 – Experiment with holographic diffraction grating (visual observation of solar spectrum)
01:54 – Spectrometer measurements: Fraunhofer lines & fluorescence (olive oil + blue LED)
05:07 – Other technical videos on this YouTube channel
▬▬ 🔗 Useful Links (Spectrometry, Radiometry, and Photometry):
• Holographic Diffraction Grating Film, Edmund Optics #54-510 — edmundoptics.com/f/holographic-diffraction-grating-film/11661
• Schematic of the DIY Experiment Setup — https://i.imgur.com/QLZhsdH.png
• Color, CIE diagram (notebooks, Observable platform) — observablehq.com/collection/@christophe-yamahata/colour
• "Human vision and the CIE chromaticity diagram" (technical report, EN) — dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31371.30242
• The "Geometry" of Colours (video, EN) — youtube.com/watch?v=7KYwi2F5Ce4
• "Broadband radiometric measurement of light-emitting diodes with a photodiode" (white paper, EN) — dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34765.05600/2
• Fraunhofer Lines — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunhofer_lines / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_spectral_irradiance.svg
• "Why you can't take a good picture of a rainbow" (video, Steve Mould) — youtube.com/watch?v=HauiF_AQUIY
• "It's a double rainbow all the way!" (viral video, Yosemitebear) — youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI
No discussion about rainbows would be complete without mentioning the legendary viral video by Yosemitebear.
It went viral for its genuine emotional reaction, paired with rather poor color reproduction.
