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A history of the spectroscopy company, Thermo Jarrell Ash Corporation, and the life of spectroscopist Richard F. Jarrell, who studied physics at Massachusetts Inst. of Technology at the undergraduate level and later did advanced work in the geology department, are discussed. There he designed, supervised construction of, and adjusted a grating spectrograph for analysis of mineral specimens. It had as its key component a 21-ft-radius diffraction grating. After many acquisitions and mergings, Thermo Instrument Systems Inc., formerly Thermo Jarrell Ash Corp., was by 1996 ranked as the world's leading manufacturer of environmental monitoring and other analytical instruments and had annual sales of more than $1bil.

Focuses on the history of Thermo Jarrell Ash Corporation in the United States. Family and educational background of spectroscopist Richard F. Jarrell, son of the company owner; Role of spectrographs during the Second World War; Details on several spectrum instruments developed by the company; Reorganizations occurred within the company.