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The Raman Effect as a chemist's tool
By the late 1930s the Raman Effect had become the principal method of nondestructive chemical analysis for both organic and inorganic compounds. The unique spectrum of Raman scattered light for any particular substance served as a "fingerprint" that could be used for qualitative analysis, even in a mixture of materials. Further, the intensity of the spectral lines was related to the amount of the substance. Raman spectroscopy could be applied not only to liquids but also to gases and solids. And unlike many other analytical methods, it could be applied easily to the analysis of aqueous solutions. It was a ubiquitous technique, giving information on what and how much was present in a plethora of samples. The use of Raman spectroscopy as a basic analytical tool changed sharply after World War II. During the war, infrared spectroscopy was enhanced by the development of sensitive detectors and advances in electronics. Infrared measurements quickly became routine operations, while Raman measurements still required skilled operators and darkroom facilities. Raman spectroscopy could no longer compete with infrared until another development in physics—the laser—revived Raman spectroscopy in a new form beginning in the 1960s.
The experiment |
The Raman Effect as the physicist's tool
The Raman Effect as the chemist's tool |
The laser and Raman spectroscopy
The life of Sir C.V. Raman |
Landmark designation |
Further reading and acknowledgments
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