H. J. Wagner expresses concerns about my Letter in this Journal regarding the origin of spectrum analysis (1). As stated in my letter “there is considerable evidence that spectrum analysis actually had its origin in Western Pennsylvania”. Wagner, however, refers to the priority I assigned to David Alter with respect to spectrum analysis as “alleged”. In support of my view, I cited Alter’s work (2, 3) whose publications on the subject preceded that of Kirchoff and Bunsen (4) by approximately five years. That fact is indisputable! It is interesting that the work of Ångström (5),¹ as referenced by Wagner, also predates that of Kirchoff and Bunsen.

In his Nobel Prize address, Schawlow stated “Scientific Spectroscopy really began in Uppsala, Sweden, where Anders Ångström in 1853 showed that some of the lines in the spectrum of an electric spark come from the metal electrodes and others from the gas between them.” (6). Thus, concerns over claims such as the one described in my letter are not new to science. Furthermore, one needs only to read about the recent issues concerning the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to conclude that such controversies are not restricted to early discoveries in science (7).

As to the other two points in Wagner’s response, both Alter and Ångström showed that the spectra of alloys consist of the spectra of the individual constituents. Alter demonstrated this in 1854 in the case of brass (2) whereas Ångström demonstrated it in 1852 in the case of a tin–lead alloy (5). Regarding the first observation of the Balmer lines of hydrogen, I stand corrected and am indebted to Wagner for pointing out the error.

Note

1. Ångström’s original article is in Swedish. My reference 5 is an English translation.

Literature Cited

1. Retcofsky, H. L. J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 1003.
2. Alter, D. Am. J. Sci. Arts 1854, 18, 55–57.
3. Alter, D. Am. J. Sci. Arts 1855, 19, 213–214.
4. Kirchhoff, G. R.; Bunsen, R. Ann. Phys. 1860, 110, 160.
5. Ångström, A. J. Phil. Mag. 1855, 9, 327–342.
6. Schawlow, A. L. Rev. Mod. Phys. 1982, 54, 697–707.
7. Henry, C. M. Chem. Eng. News 2003, 81 (44), 39–40.