Count Antoine Alfred Arnaud Xavier Louis de Gramont (21 April 1861 – 31 October 1923) was a French aristocrat with an interest in minerals, geology, and was a pioneer of spectroscopy. He conducted studies on pyroelectricity and dissociation spectroscopy in which he used an electric spark going through a mineral sample as a source to examine spectra.
From 1894 he began to experiment in spectroscopy and developed a direct approach to analysis of minerals using an induction coil to generate sparks within which a sample was placed.[1] He was able to remove the spectral lines caused by the metal of the electrodes by removing the condenser.[2] Using photography, he also extended spectroscopy into the UV region. He developed the technique further using capillary tubes of samples fused with salts.
^Gramont, M.A. (1907). "Spectroscopie – Sur les raies ultimes ou de grand sensibilité des métaux, dans les spectres de dissociation". Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. 144: 1101–1104.