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Comparison of Water Quality with Absorbance Spectra
This month’s spectra feature compares the spectra of tap water at the Avantes, Inc. offices in Louisville, Colorado to spectra of a water sample drawn from a tributary of Coal Creek. The stream water predictably evidenced higher absorption and lower transmission values due to particulate matter and potential contaminants.
System Configuration
An absorption setup was used to analyze two different samples of water. A DHc light source was set up with a cuvette holder directly attached to the light source. An FC-UVIR600-1-BX Fiber was then attached to the cuvette holder that lead directly to the spectrometer (AvaSpec-Mini2048CL) to acquire the spectra.
Methodology
Once the system was set up, two quartz cuvettes were filled with tap water and two quartz cuvettes were filled with water from a local stream. A dark measurement was taken, with a blank cuvette taken as the reference. The cuvettes were then inserted into the cuvette holder to record the absorption and transmission of each sample. Data were collected and then analyzed in AvaSoft.
Spectral Images
Comparison of Absorbance Spectra
Comparison of Transmission Spectra
