Jacox, M.
(2010),
On Walking in the Footprints of Giants, Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 61 (2010), Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, CA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=904195 (Accessed May 16, 2026)
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On Walking in the Footprints of Giants
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Author(s)
Abstract
This chapter tells of a lifelong fascination with light, a messenger bearing information from realms ranging from the galactic to the submicroscopic. Personal interactions have shaped and informed this life journey. Accounts of some of the most important of these are related. Infrared and electronic spectra have been obtained, often for the first time, for many small free radicals and molecular ions--short-lived reaction intermedites in most chemical processes. The infrared spectrum of a molecule tells how its atoms vibrate with respect to one another and is as characteristic of the molecule as your fingerprint is of you. Analysis of this spectrum provides sometimes surprising information about the structure and chemical bonding of the molecule in its lowest energy electronic state. The electronic spectrum provides information on the molecule in more highly excited electronic states, where its structure or reaction pattern may change or it may decompose.Citation
Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 61 (2010)
Volume
61
Publisher Info
Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, CA
Pub Type
Book Chapters
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Keywords
Cage Recombination, Electronic Spectrum, Free Radicals, Infrared Spectrum, Matrix Isolation, Molecular Ions
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Created March 1, 2010, Updated February 19, 2017