Zeiss Opton Hydrogen Lamp for Model PQ4 Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer

• ca. 1952
• Manufactured by Zeiss Opton
  Made in Germany
• 8.5 in. H x 12.25 in. W x 7.5 in. D
  Iron, metal, plastic
• Not on display
• Gift of the Bodenseewerk Perkin-Elmer Museum of Instrumental Analysis, Überlingen, Germany
• Bodensee Collection
• 2002.003.010C

Description

It is not uncommon for spectrophotometers to have different light sources (lamps) that are interchangeable. Different light sources (i.e., hydrogen, quartz, ultraviolet) each produce different types and intensities of light that can be used for specific experiments.

Spectrophotometers determine the composition of a solution (or the concentration of certain substances within a solution) by measuring how the solution absorbs a particular wavelength of light. By varying the wavelengths in each measurement, one can take a spectrum of a solution and ascertain the composition. More advanced spectrophotometers can measure beyond the visible spectrum, providing readings for ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.