"Light is a set of waves through space. So the “messages” are presented as waves. Each atom has its own way to send its message. This is its “spectra”, its own set of waves. So spectroscopy is the common language of atoms. When you know how to read these waves, you understand the language of atoms and molecules."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zohra_ben_Lakhdar