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Article: Spectroscopy
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the measurement of interactions between electromagnetic radiation and matter. Electromagnetic radiation, which includes light, has characteristics of waves and particles. Each "particle" of light, or "
photon
," has a discrete amount of energy that can be transferred to a molecule. The transverse waves of electromagnetic radiation possess a constantly changing magnitude of electric and magnetic fields in directions that are
perpendicular
to the direction in which the wave is traveling. These changes in the electric and magnetic fields can cause changes in molecules. Electromagnetic radiation can be transmitted, absorbed, or reflected by matter, and each ...