instructables

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry

by Daniel Hingston

Rainbows, natural phenomena that produce beautiful
spectrums of coloured light in the sky, inspire myth
and legend and art and give happiness to millions of
people. Just as natural rainbows are created by how
sunlight plays through water droplets in the
atmosphere, we can arti cially create our own
rainbows using prisms. There are many scienti c
applications of rainbows, and one is
'Spectrophotometry'!
In this Instructable, we're going to make a basic
Arduino-powered spectrophotometer, using a little
prism to create and use our own rainbow. We'll make a
lot of use of 3D printing, and also learn about lots of
other things along the way.
The project video gives a short overview of the
project, but please read on through the Instructable
for full instructions too!

A spectrophotometer is a scienti c instrument used to

measure how di erent wavelengths of light (the
di erent colours of light seen in the rainbow are
ht t ps://www.yout ube.com/embed/vP9oaMI_R7s
di erent wavelengths) are absorbed by a sample. This
analysis can tell us all sorts of things, and these
instruments ( rst made in the 1940s) have played a
huge role in modern science, especially biochemistry.

Step 1: What You Will Need

These are the components I used to build my prototype. Please read onto the next step to read a more full
explanation of how a spectrophotometer works, and how we can make our own at home!

M a in Co m po ne nt s
Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 1
 Triangular prism (30mm each side)
Arduino Uno
LDR (light dependent resistor)
16-Bit LED pixel ring
9g Servo
Mini Test Tubes
DC-DC boost converter 5V-9V
USB cable (one end cut o , and the power lines soldered to the boost converter)
Wall plug that can supply 5V DC 0.5A
USB cable to connect Arduino to PC

M ino r Co m po ne nt s

Ball bearings
Toggle switch
Momentary push button
E10 lament light bulb
Bulb holder
10k ohm potentiometer (or larger)

Co ns um a ble s

Heatshrink
Header pins
Hookup wire
Solder
Electrical insulative tape
3D printing lament

Suppo rt ing

Windows PC
3D printer (my print bed is 210x210mm)

S o f t w a re

Arduino IDE
CAD Software if you want to modify the les and view the assembly

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 2

Step 2: The Rainbow and Science

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 3

Ho w do e s a Spe ct ro pho t o m e t e r w o rk?
Fundamentally, a spectrophotometer measures the
transmission properties of a substance with respect to
wavelength. So what does this mean? Di erent
colours of light (the colours of the rainbow that you
can see) have di erent 'wavelengths', it is this that
makes them appear to be di erent colours to our
eyes. We know that di erent materials and chemicals
absorb and transmit di erent wavelengths di erently
to each other - we see a green leaf appearing green
because the green part of the spectrum is the main
part that the leaf does not absorb, and hence it is
passed onwards to our eyes. A spectrophotometer
creates a light spectrum, and then selectively passes a
portion of that spectrum (e.g. just red light) through
the sample, and then measures the light intensity
recorded. Doing this in turn for each band of
wavelengths (or each colour) of light within the visible
light spectrum allows you to measure how this
substance absorbs each portion of the spectrum,
from this data you can plot an absorption chart. This
analysis can tell you a lot about a substance or
chemical reaction, and it is why it is such a useful
scienti c tool! When researching this, I read that one
Nobel prizewinner for Chemistry said that the
spectrophotometer is "probably the most important
instrument ever developed towards the advancement
of bioscience." I have to admit, I don't really need a
spectrophotometer at home, but I thought that it
would be a really interesting project to try and
replicate one using basic components and Arduino. So
here goes!
Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 4
The images above show me experimenting with the
angles needed between the prism and the light
source to create a spectrum of the right size and in
the right place, within the planned dimensions of the
housing.
Side no t e : He rs che l' s Inf ra re d Expe rim e nt
Infrared is the component of the electromagnetic
spectrum that lies just beyond the red end of our
visible light spectrum. Invisible to the human eye,
infrared light plays a huge part in our lives - over half
of the energy from our Sun arrives on Earth as
infrared light, which warms us and helps give our
planet the conditions we need. William Herschel, the
great German/British astronomer of the 18th century,
was the rst to notice the existence of infrared, and he
did this by just using a simple prism, like the kind
you'll have bought to work on this Instructable. If you
like, you can try replicating this before using your
prism for the spectrophotometer.
Herschel pointed a beam of strong sunlight into a
darkened room, and angled his prism it so a beautiful
rainbow shined out from it. He then took a
thermometer, and noticed that when holding it in the
dark region beyond the red part of the spectrum,
there was a noticeable increase in temperature,
although there was no visible light there at all! He
wasn't looking for it, but with this simple observation
he'd just discovered a whole previously unknown type
of light!
Step 3: Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain

This little mnemonic is how I was taught to remember the colours of the rainbow in order 'Richard - Red, Of -
Orange, York - Yellow, Gave - Green, Battle - Blue, In - Indigo, Vain - Violet' and references a tiny snippet of English
history - referring to the defeat of the Richard, Duke of York, claimaint to the throne, at the Battle of Wake eld in
1460, in the early years of the Wars of the Roses. I nd little historical references like this really satisfying to know, so
I thought I'd share this one with you.

O ur Spe ct ro pho t o m e t e r De s ig n
Let's now have a look at our design, and discuss the main components.

The Prism - we shall use a simple triangular prism to generate our spectrum. The prism assembly will
be held in bearings and be able to rotate, this will allow only a part (or single colour) of the light
spectrum to be shined through through a narrow slot and into the sample.
Servo motor drive - a miniature 9g servo motor will rotate the prism assembly to point di erent
parts of the spectrum through the slot towards the sample.
Test tube hole - a mini test tube holding the sample will be inserted into this deep hole in the
housing. One one side of the test tube will be this narrow slot from which light will pass through the
sample, and on the other side of the test tube will be mounted the light sensor which will record
readings and pass those to the Arduino microcontroller. I initially used a BH1750, but later changed
this to a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR).
Light source - for this design we shall use a 9V torch battery. It is mounted in a small assembly that
adds a parabolic re ector behind the bulb (coated in tin foil) to held direct light, and has a small slot
at the front so that only a narrow beam of light can emerge. This allows the light to be precisely
directed into the prism.

So those are the key components for the design!

Step 4: She's a Rainbow

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 5

All the .stl les for printing, as well as .step les (which overnight. As such, I had to use the settings in my
you can import into your CAD software if you want to slicer software (Ultimaker Cura) to keep the print time
make modi cations to the design) are uploaded to down to within the window of a single day. I
this GrabCad page I created to store the les. I eventually tuned it to take 12.5 hours, but if I was
strongly recommend you open this assembly to see printing to more desired quality it would be 22+
for yourself all the detail of the assembly, so it's easier hours!
to understand how it all ts together. As well as the
les for the spectrophotometer itself, this also The fun pack of lament colours (PLA lament) I
includes the mini test tube rack that I designed to bought came with about 30g of a whole variety of
hold my samples. colours (even glow-in-the-dark which you'll de nitely
see appear in a future project!). This I used to add the
For me the most nerve-wracking part was printing rainbow spectrum decoration to the side of the
the main case by far! Almost all of the complexity of casing, which I think adds a lot to the project in terms
the project is contained within that single part, and so of aesthetics. The rst photo shows how I built this up
printing this correctly was so fundamental. My 3D - you'll need to fettle the ts a little with a knife/ le to
printer (a modi ed Anet A6) is quite basic and lacks make sure they all t snugly, but I didn't actually need
certain safety features that more sophisticated to glue them.
printers have, so I am not comfortable running it

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 6

Step 5: Rainbow Connection
Electrical details!
The wiring in this project is actually relatively simple
you'll be pleased to hear! I haven't included a
schematic as it's very simple to describe, and you'll be
able to replicate it without di culty. Bear in mind that
there are two distinct circuits within the project, the
9V DC circuit (powered from a wall plug) that runs the
bulb, along with a toggle switch to turn this on and
o , and also the Arduino circuit (powered via USB
from a PC) that also provides 5V DC to run the LED
pixel ring, and the LDR (light dependent resistor).
I recommend soldering all of the electrical
connections together and building the wiring into the
main casing before doing any other assembly. That
way the wiring will already be laid before you add any
other printed parts. You'll see I allowed plenty of slack
in the cable lengths, and then laid it roughly into the
recesses of the casing, held down with electrical tape.
Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 7
It doesn't need to be too neat as all this will be
enclosed by the housing lid later!
The DC-DC boost converter needs to be trimmed (by
rotating the screw and testing the output with a
multimeter) to provide 9V, which is what the torch
battery requires.
A tiny piece of stripboard was cut which was used to
make a mini 5V rail and GND rail from the Arduino, to
which the other electrical components are interfaced.
Please follow the speci c instructions for the speci c
LED Ring you purchase, as there are some very similar
models that have slightly di erent wiring, so I
wouldn't want to advise you incorrectly. A 10k
potentiometer is used to connect the LDR in a voltage
divider circuit, but a larger value would probably be
better, as I used this set to the maximum 10k position.
Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 8
Step 6: Assembly Time!

Time to complete the mechanical assembly. It's going to get quite tight inside the housing!

After the prism assembly in is inside, a rubber band is used to go to the servo motor head (the servo
motor is super-glued in place on the rails that support it). Due to COVID-19 related lockdown, I
couldn't go out to source another in time, so this is an old one from the kitchen that once was
wrapped around a bunch of asparagus! This rubber band is a little loose, but it still works.
The nuts for the M2.5 bolts are embedded into 9 locations in the housing, and super-glued in place.
The Uno and boost converter are just pressed into place, which was nice and easy.
After passing the USB power cable through the housing, I wrapped a little electrical tape around it
on the inside, to prevent it from being pulled through the hole and damage the connections.
The LDR ts into a little plate, that ts into the void originally designed for the form factor of the
BH1750 light sensor. This pushes into the housing, but I decided to secure it with extra electrical tape.
Underneath, four little self-adhesive rubber feet make for a nice grippy base to the unit. I think this
adds a nice touch of quality to the feel of the device.
The light source assembly, even when printed in black PLA still leaked some light through the sides,
so I wrapped black electrical tape around it too, which properly insulated it

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 9

Step 7: Testing!
Please download the attached Arduino code and get
it uploaded to your Uno, but make sure to pay
attention to the libraries that the code references that
you'll need to install into your Arduino IDE if you don't
already have them. It's necessary to check the pin
attachments too, so make sure they match to how
you've wired your system.
Testing time, and running the code will produce the
sequence seen in the video (Section 1 of this
Instructable!). Copy the data that comes in from the
Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE into Excel or similar,
and you can produce a plot similar to that shown
above. This shows the traces from all 8 colour samples
I tested (the ones shown in the test tube rack, which
Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 10
are paint in solution). The portion of the plot that is
relevant is bounded by the vertical lines, which show
the portion of the prism's rotation that the colour
spectrum is shining through the sample. Outside of
those bounds we're not interested in, and the light
recorded is extraneous from other errant light
sources. It's interesting to see how the LDR picks up
di erent levels of the di erent colours of light, and
how it shows variation within the spectrum for each
colour too. I need to conduct more testing to further
understand the response of the LDR to di erent
wavelengths of light (there are di erent types of LDR
which respond di erently), and analyse more samples,
but I think it's a promising result so far.
 Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F57/M5K6/KDX3QFI2/F57M5K6KDX3QFI2.ino
…

Step 8: Conclusion: Somewhere Over the Rainbow!

I very much enjoyed working on this project over the loose), and also print the housing with thicker walls or
1.5 months it took from start to nish, it's taught me a paint the insides with matt black paint to minimise
lot about design, and also about the use of light in the capture of light from sources other than the
experiments. prism.

If I had the opportunity to make improvements, a
version 2 of this project would use a brighter light
source so that more light could reach the sensor. It
would also employ a larger value (larger than 10k
ohm) resistor alongside the LDR sensor so that the
device would be more sensitive to variations in low
light levels. I would nd a better sized rubber band to
drive the prism assembly rotation (mine was too
Thank you very much for reading, I hope that this
interested you. If you do your own experiments based
on this design, I would love to hear from you how you
got on, and improvements that you could make!
Please also comment if there are details you need that
I've missed out, and I'll do my best to help.

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 11

Science With Rainbows! - Spectrophotometry: Page 12