Optical Spectra Captured with a DVD

Introduction

A piece of a DVD was cut out and secured at an angle within a cardboard tube using epoxy to form a rudimentary spectroscope. The entrance slit was formed from a pair of safety razor blades attached with black electrical tape. I captured the following optical spectra using a cell phone camera and was able to perceive a remarkable level of detail, including the Fraunhofer lines in the solar spectrum.

Fluorescent tube spectrum

Solar spectrum

Neon glow lamp (NE-2) spectrum

Suspected metal halide lamp spectrum

Note that this spectrum was captured late at night on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus in Pittsburgh, PA (USA). The lamp in question produced a bluish-white light and this very unusual looking spectrum. I suspect this was a metal halide lamp (the only one I’ve encountered on that campus).

High pressure sodium lamp spectrum