Make your own spectroscope

In association with The Solar Spark at the University of Edinburgh

Visible light spectrum from red to blue on black background

Source: © Shutterstock

Make a “rainbow in a box” using card and a CD.

Visible light can be split up into all the colours of the rainbow. When you see a rainbow in the sky, the visible light from the sun is split up by the raindrops in the air. We can also use prisms or things called diffraction gratings to split the light up too.

Thanks for using the RSC’s education resources. You can view one resource per month as a visitor, or two resources per month when you’re logged in with a personal account.

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more: 

unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
applications for funding to support your lessons

Set up your Teach Chemistry account

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not a science teacher or technician based in the UK or Ireland? Don’t worry – you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.