Molecular Spectroscopy

The energy which a molecule can possess is quantized, that is only certain values are allowed. When radiation interacts with matter composed of such molecules, energy can be transferred to the molecules to promote specific excitations. Since only discrete amounts of energy are passed across, only light of characteristic frequencies can interact with the molecules. This set of frequencies is called its spectrum. This concise text uses a range of examples to describe how such spectra can arise and what information on the structure can be acquired from their study.