光谱分析 (guāngpǔfēnxī): spectral analysis

Cleanly compositional: 光谱 (guāngpǔ, 'light spectrum' = 光 light + 谱 chart/spectrum) + 分析 (fēnxī, 'analyze'). 'Light-spectrum analysis' — the words map one-to-one to English 'spectral analysis'.

history

The technique launched modern astrophysics: 1859, Bunsen and Kirchhoff in Heidelberg discovered each chemical element produces a unique spectral fingerprint, making it possible to determine the composition of stars. Helium 氦 (hài) was actually discovered in the spectrum of the Sun in 1868 — 27 years before it was found on Earth.