Spectroscopic studies can reveal a wealth of information about the rotational and vibrational behavior of the constituent molecules of gases and liquids. This book reviews the fundamental concepts and models that underpin such studies. Throughout, discussion of the various quantum mechanical and semiclassical theories is interwoven with analysis of experimental results.

A review of the fundamental concepts and models which underpin the spectroscopic study of gases and liquids, first published in 1994.

The Raman effect is a most useful tool for the study of molecular vibrations and molecular structure. Information about the structure and symmetry of molecules, as well as about their vibrational energies can be obtained to a reasonable degree of satisfaction from their infrared and Raman vibrational spectra. The body of knowl edqe of the vibrational infrared and Raman spectra of molecules is immense and is now so well organized and understood that it is found to be represented in any stan dard upper level undergraduate curriculum in chemistry. The rotational energies of a molecule and quantitative details about its structure can only be obtained through the techniques of microwave, and high-resolution infrared and Raman spectroscopy of low pressure gases and vapors. The results of such investigations are of interest . not only to the academic scientists, but also to scientists and engineers who are active in applied fields of chemistry and physics, as well as the atmospheric sciences. This book deals with basic investigations of the Raman scattering of light by gases, with some attention also being given to liquid substances. After a brief in troductory chapter that delineates the historical development of Raman spectroscopy of gases, high-resolution rotation-vibrational and pure rotational Raman spectros copy is described in Chapters 2 and 3. The all-important intensity parameter, the Raman scattering cross section, is treated in Chapter 4, while the broadening of Raman lines due to the effects of intermolecular forces is taken up in Chapter 5.

This book covers the recent NMR studies with the application of gaseous molecules. Among the comprehensively discussed aspects of the area it includes in particular: new multinuclear experiments that deliver spectral parameters of isolated molecules and provide the most accurate values of nuclear magnetic shielding, isotropic spin–spin coupling and relaxation times; advanced, precise and correct theoretical descriptions of spectral parameters of molecules as well as the application of gas-phase NMR measurements to chemical analysis and medicine. The progress of research in these fields is enormous and has rapidly changed our knowledge and understanding of molecular parameters in NMR spectroscopy. For example, accurate studies of the shielding for isolated molecules allow the exact determination of nuclear magnetic dipole moments, the calculated values of spectral parameters can be verified by precise gas-phase NMR measurements, and the application of hyperpolarized noble gases provides excellent MRI pictures of lungs. Aimed at graduates and researchers in spectroscopy, analytical chemistry and those researching the applications of NMR in medicine, this book presents the connections between sophisticated experiments, the theory of magnetic parameters and the exploration of new methods in practice.

The definitive text on the rotational spectroscopy of diatomic molecules.