Popis: |
The Swedish astronomer Anders Jonas Angstrom, born two centuries ago and professor of physics at Uppsala University, was one of the founders of optical spectroscopy. By using diffraction gratings out of glass plates with fine scorings across the face, he was able to observe the spectrum of the Sun, announcing in 1862 that he had discovered the lines of hydrogen in the solar spectrum. His most important work, “Recherches sur la Spectre Solaire”, including an atlas of close to a thousand spectral lines, became the standard of spectroscopy for at least a quarter of a century. This article deals with his life as well as his main contributions to the development of several areas of physical science, stressing his pioneer activities in spectroscopy. |