Infrared Spectroscopy II

Infrared spectroscopy is spectroscopy in the infrared (IR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is a vital part of infrared astronomy, just as it is in visual, or optical, astronomy (and has been since lines were discovered in the spectrum of the Sun, in 1802, though it was a couple of decades before Fraunhofer began to study them systematically). For the most part, the techniques used...

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What is it?

The electromagnetic spectrum is more familiar to you than you might think. The microwave you use to heat your food and the cell phones you use are part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. The light that our eyes can see is also part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum consists of the colors that...

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What does the Infrared show us?

This is an infrared image of the Earth taken by the GOES 6 satellite in 1986. A scientist used temperatures to determine which parts of the image were from clouds and which were land and sea. Based on these temperature differences, he colored each separately using 256 colors, giving the image a realistic appearance. Why use the infrared to image the Earth? While it is easier to...

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Infra Red Waves

Infrared light lies between the visible and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared light has a range of wavelengths, just like visible light has wavelengths that range from red light to violet. "Near infrared" light is closest in wavelength to visible light and "far infrared" is closer to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The longer, far infrared wavelengths...

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INTERPRETING AN INFRA-RED SPECTRUM

This page explains how to use an infra-red spectrum to identify the presence of a few simple bonds in organic compounds.   The infra-red spectrum for a simple carboxylic acid Ethanoic acid Ethanoic acid has the structure: You will see that it contains the following bonds: carbon-oxygen double, C=O carbon-oxygen single, C-O oxygen-hydrogen, O-H carbon-hydrogen, C-H carbon-carbon single,...

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