The spectrophotometer really measures the percent of light that is transmitted through the solution. the instrument then converts %t (% transmittance) to absorbance using the relationship you determined in the prelab exercise. if the absorbance of a sample is 0.85, what is the percent light transmitted through the colored sample at this collected wavelength.

blue light is scattered in different directions by the tiny molecules of air. blue is scattered more than other colours because it has a shorter distance to travel which results in smaller waves. this is why we see a blue sky most of the time.

the aurora is formed when charged particles emitted from the sun during a solar flare penetrate the earth's magnetic shield and collide with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. these collisions result in countless little bursts of light, called photons, which make up the aurora.

auroras are generated by charged solar particles hitting molecules in earth's atmosphere. this usually happens in high latitudes, because our planet’s magnetic field tends to funnel these particles toward the poles. that’s why it can be experienced in northern ohio.