angle and thus quantitatively evaluate the wavelength with hand-and-pencil calculations, as in the classical experiment of the optical goniometer.
SPETTROGRAFO system, prototype for a digital spectrometer, offers itself to be
used both in secondary school educational labs and in university introductive
physics courses, thanks to its inexpensiveness with respect to other commercial
devices, to it easiness in use, and to the possibility to explore the functional role of
every components of the measure setup. The main advantage of the system is that it
is not presented to students as a mysterious “black box” working performing
measurements without any awareness of the inner processes by students, rather, it
allows students to develop a functional understanding of the measuring process,
which is one of the main goal of an educational lab.
Up to now the device has been presented to a group of ten secondary school
teachers and used by them in the context of “National School for Teachers on
Modern Physics” within IDIFO6 project
3 held in Udine University (IT) in
September 2017, a teacher professional development activity. In the same IDIFO6
project, the device has been used in the educational lab for freshmen in biotechnology as a part of a wider didactical innovation project and it has been implemented in
Masterclass and CLOE (Conceptual Lab of Operative Explorations) activity held in
Udine University in the period January–March 2018 for secondary school students
in the framework of a wider schools-university collaboration project.
References
Amrani D (2014) Hydrogen Balmer series measurements and determination of Rydberg’s constant
using two different spectrometers. Eur J Phys 35(4):045001
Buongiorno D, Gervasio M, Michelini M (2018) The spectrograph: a prototype for a digital
spectrometer. In: Borg Farrugia C (ed) Junior College multi-disciplinary conference: research,
practice and collaboration: breaking barriers: conference proceedings. University of Malta,
Junior College, Malta. ISBN: 9789995714369
Gervasio M, Michelini M (2009) Lucegrafo. A USB data acquisition system. In: Lamboune B et al
(eds) MPTL14 proc. http://www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/mptl14/contents.htm
Luo WW, Gerritsen HJ (1993) Seeing the Fraunhofer lines with only a diffraction grating and a slit.
Am J Phys 61(7):632
Michelini M, Stefanel A (2015) Upper secondary students face optical diffraction using simple
experiments and on-line measurements. In: Triay R (ed) FFP14
Onorato P, Malgieri M, De Ambrosis A (2015) Measuring the hydrogen Balmer series and
Rydberg’s constant with a homemade spectrophotometer. Am J Phys 61(7):632
Oupseph PJ (2007) CD rainbows. Phys Teach 45:11
Scheeline A (2010) Teaching, learning, and using spectroscopy with commercial, off-the-shelf
technology. Appl Spectrosc 64(9):256A
3 http://www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/laurea/idifo6.htm
282
D. Buongiorno et al.
SPETTROGRAFO system, prototype for a digital spectrometer, offers itself to be
used both in secondary school educational labs and in university introductive
physics courses, thanks to its inexpensiveness with respect to other commercial
devices, to it easiness in use, and to the possibility to explore the functional role of
every components of the measure setup. The main advantage of the system is that it
is not presented to students as a mysterious “black box” working performing
measurements without any awareness of the inner processes by students, rather, it
allows students to develop a functional understanding of the measuring process,
which is one of the main goal of an educational lab.
Up to now the device has been presented to a group of ten secondary school
teachers and used by them in the context of “National School for Teachers on
Modern Physics” within IDIFO6 project
3 held in Udine University (IT) in
September 2017, a teacher professional development activity. In the same IDIFO6
project, the device has been used in the educational lab for freshmen in biotechnology as a part of a wider didactical innovation project and it has been implemented in
Masterclass and CLOE (Conceptual Lab of Operative Explorations) activity held in
Udine University in the period January–March 2018 for secondary school students
in the framework of a wider schools-university collaboration project.
References
Amrani D (2014) Hydrogen Balmer series measurements and determination of Rydberg’s constant
using two different spectrometers. Eur J Phys 35(4):045001
Buongiorno D, Gervasio M, Michelini M (2018) The spectrograph: a prototype for a digital
spectrometer. In: Borg Farrugia C (ed) Junior College multi-disciplinary conference: research,
practice and collaboration: breaking barriers: conference proceedings. University of Malta,
Junior College, Malta. ISBN: 9789995714369
Gervasio M, Michelini M (2009) Lucegrafo. A USB data acquisition system. In: Lamboune B et al
(eds) MPTL14 proc. http://www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/mptl14/contents.htm
Luo WW, Gerritsen HJ (1993) Seeing the Fraunhofer lines with only a diffraction grating and a slit.
Am J Phys 61(7):632
Michelini M, Stefanel A (2015) Upper secondary students face optical diffraction using simple
experiments and on-line measurements. In: Triay R (ed) FFP14
Onorato P, Malgieri M, De Ambrosis A (2015) Measuring the hydrogen Balmer series and
Rydberg’s constant with a homemade spectrophotometer. Am J Phys 61(7):632
Oupseph PJ (2007) CD rainbows. Phys Teach 45:11
Scheeline A (2010) Teaching, learning, and using spectroscopy with commercial, off-the-shelf
technology. Appl Spectrosc 64(9):256A
3 http://www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/laurea/idifo6.htm
282
D. Buongiorno et al.