Analysis
Another class of optical instrument is used to analyze the properties of light or optical materials. They include:
- Interferometer for measuring the interference properties of light waves
- Photometer for measuring light intensity
- Polarimeter for measuring dispersion or rotation of polarized light
- Reflectometer for measuring the reflectivity of a surface or object
- Refractometer for measuring refractive index of various materials, invented by Ernst Abbe
- Spectrometer or monochromator for generating or measuring a portion of the optical spectrum, for the purpose of chemical or material analysis.
- Autocollimator which is used to measure angular deflections.
- Vertometer which is used to determine refractive power of lenses such as glasses, contact lenses and magnifier lens
DNA sequencers can be considered optical instruments as they analyse the color and intensity of the light emitted by a fluorochrome attached to a specific nucleotide of a DNA strand.
Surface plasmon resonance-based instruments use refractometry to measure and analyze biomolecular interactions.
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