Modern spectroscopy in the field of materials research: How does sunscreen protect our skin?
What is light? Why do we need sunscreen? How efficient is it for blocking damaging radiation? In this workshop, students learn more about light and wavelengths through a day-to-day application. They use modern spectroscopy equipment to explore how electromagnetic radiations work. Then, following a simple recipe, they make their own sunscreen using natural ingredients and test its efficiency in blocking damaging UV radiation.
Participants carry out three main tasks:
- Discovering the principles of wave interference and experimentally measuring light maxima and minima
- Construction of their own DIY spectrometer to observe absortion and emission spectra of different gas lamps
- Testing their natural sunscreen by measuring the absortion and transmission spectra for different wavelengths
This full-day workshop is suitable for classes ranging from 3rd to 1st grade, meaning students aged 15 to 19.
Prior knowledge on the following topics can be useful for the participants: Basic understanding of wavelengths


Schedule