What Are Spectrophotometers Used For in the Lab?
A spectrophotometer or UV spectrophotometer is an instrument used in spectrophotometry; the study of electromagnetic spectra. It is more specific than the broader term electromagnetic spectroscopy in that spectrophotometry deals with visible light, near-ultraviolet and near-infrared. Electromagnetic spectroscopy includes time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, while spectrophotometry does not. Spectrophotometry entails measuring the intensity of light as a function of the color. More specifically, it measures the wavelength of light. Significant features of spectrophotometers are measurement of spectral bandwidth and linear range of absorption. Perhaps the most common application of spectrophotometers is the measurement of light absorption, but they can also be designed to measure diffuse or specular reflectance. Even the emission half of a luminescence instrument can be considered a kind of spectrophotometer. The use of the UV spectrophotometer or conventional spectrophotometers is no
