SPECTROSCOPY

Spectroscopy is the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter to

qualitatively or quantitatively study the matter or to study physical
processes.

The interaction of radiation with matter can cause redirection of the radiation
and/or transitions between the energy levels of the atoms or molecules. The
following processes may occur:

Absorption: Matter can capture electromagnetic radiation and thus a

transition from a lower level to a higher level takes place. In this process,
transfer of energy takes place from the radiation field to the absorbing
species.

Emission: When matter is excited to higher energy state by

electromagnetic radiation then a transition from a higher energy level to a
lower energy level, with transfer of energy from the emitting species to the
radiation field, takes place.

Scattering: Redirection of light due to its interaction with matter.

Scattering might or might not occur with a transfer of energy, i.e., the
scattered radiation might or might not have a slightly different wavelength
compared to the light incident on the sample.

Therefore on the basis of above referenced phenomenon, spectroscopy may

be divided in to following types:

Absorption Spectroscopy, Emission Spectroscopy etc.

Specific absorption techniques tend to be referred to by the region of

wavelength of radiation used such as ultraviolet, visible, infrared or
microwave absorption spectroscopy. Absorption occurs when the energy of
the photons matches the energy difference between two states of the
material. The spectrum of an atom or molecule depends on its energy-level
structure, making absorption spectra useful for identifying compounds.

Spectrum: The data that is obtained from spectroscopy is called a

spectrum. A spectrum is a plot of the intensity of energy detected versus
the wavelength (or frequency or wave number, etc.) of the energy.
Electromagnetic Radiation
Electromagnetic radiation consists of discrete packets of energy, which are
called photons. A photon consists of an oscillating electric field component
and an oscillating magnetic field component. The electric and magnetic
fields of a photon flip direction as the photon travels and the number of flips,
or oscillations, that occur in one second is called the frequency, , of
radiation.

Frequency: The number of waves passing through a given point in one

second is called frequency and represent by . It has the units of
oscillations per second, or simply s-1 (this unit is given the name Hertz).

Wavelength: The crest to crest distance of a wave is called wavelength

and is represented by .

The relationship between wavelength, and frequency is:

= c/

Whereas, c is the velocity of light. This means higher the frequency, the
shorter the wavelength.

Further, the energy, E, of one photon depends on its frequency of oscillation:

E=h = hv /

where h is Planck's constant (6.62618x10-34 J·s).

The electromagnetic nature of all photons is the same, but photons can have
different wavelengths or frequencies. Electromagnetic radiations are divided
in to different regions which are named on the basis of difference in their
wavelength and frequency ranges.
The entire electromagnetic radiations are divided in to following spectral
regions.

The frequency range, wavelength and the type of transition that can occur when a photon
(electromagnetic radiation), in these spectral ranges, interacts with matter.

Type of Frequency Wavelength

Type of Transition
Radiation Range (Hz) Range
gamma-rays 1020-1024 <1 pm nuclear
X-rays 1017-1020 1 nm-1 pm inner electron
ultraviolet 1015-1017 400 nm-1 nm outer electron transition
visible 4-7.5x1014 750 nm-400 nm outer electron transition
outer electron molecular
near-infrared 1x1014-4x1014 2.5 µm-750 nm
vibrations
infrared 1013-1014 25 µm-2.5 µm molecular vibrations
molecular rotations,
microwaves 3x1011-1013 1 mm-25 µm
electron spin flips*
radio waves <3x1011 >1 mm nuclear spin flips