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The light we see is actually a lot of different types of light combined. When many different colors of light hit our eye at once we see white.Light is a type of energy called radiation. Most people think that radiation is all bad, but that si not so. Many types of radiation are helpful or even necessary. X-rays, when used carefully help doctors diagnose broken bones and other problems. Radio waves are used to send information and music to millions of listeners every second of every day. X-rays, light and radio waves are all types of radiation. In this lab we are going to use simple spectroscopes to observe the wavelengths of light coming from different light sources. A spectroscope is a tool that forces light break apart and show the wavelengths it is made of. The spectroscope works by allowing a tiny bit of light to enter the tool and this light is viewed by the observer through a diffraction grating. The diffraction grating is a tiny piece of plastic with hundreds of lines cut into it. These lines force the light to bend. Each wavelength of light bends at a different angle so when it hits our eye we will see not white light, but a set of different colors.