The first form of spectra was discovered by Isaac Newton in the 17th century, who used a prism to split white light into its component colors and observed the resulting spectrum. However, the study of spectra as a tool for understanding the nature of light and matter was pioneered by Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen in the mid-19th century. They developed the spectroscope, which allowed them to analyze the spectra of different substances and identify the unique spectral lines associated with each element. Their work laid the foundation for the field of spectroscopy, which is now used in a wide range of scientific disciplines.