Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - Department of Chemistry

Applications of Statistical Thermodynamics and Spectroscopy

Experimental and theoretical basis of spectroscopy, cont'd

(i) Generation of electromagnetic radiation by physical and chemical systems; common features and differences between radiation belonging to the extrema of the electromagnetic spectrum; (ii) Physical nature af radiation, physical meaning of intensity, experimental methods for the determination of h, ambivalent properties of photons, waves and particles; (iii ) Heisenberg's uncertainty principle with respect to chemical and physical vacuum, aspects of geometrical optics, radiation damping, superposition of waves; (iv) Detection of radiation, principe of rectification, modulation and demodulation, linear and non-linear systems, frequency multiplication, phase sensitive detection; (v) Interaction with material systems; effects of electromagnetic waves on matter (absorption, emission, polarisation, dielectric, electric and magnetic effects, elastic and inelastic scattering effects), analytical-chemical implications; generation of chemically relevant information at the interaction of radiation with matter; determination of characteristic physico-chemical properties of matter; (vi) Oscillating circuits and resonant cavities in atomar and radio-frequency systems; measurements of frequency and quality factors of resonant cavities, magnetic resonance experiments in radio-frequency and in γ-ray regions, chemical and physical aspects of MASERS and LASERS; (vii) Mathematical treatments of the electromagnetic phenomena, Maxwell-equations, fields, waves, density of electromagnetic energy, relations to quantum mechanics, wave equations, coherence, decoherence.


P.W. Atkins "Physikalische Chemie", Wiley-VCH, 2002;
C. Gerthsen, H. Vogel "Physik", Springer Verlag, 1982;
H. Haken, H. C. Wolf "Atom- und Quantenphysik", Springer Verlag, 1980;
H. Haken, H. C. Wolf "Molekülphysik und Quantenchemie", Springer Verlag, 1994;


Optical spectroscopy

Principles & applications: Interaction of electromagnetic fields with matter, dipole approximation; selection rules, atomic spectroscopy, absorption laws and determination of radiation, lifetimes and line shape functions.

Rotational and vibrational spectroscopy, IR- and Raman spectroscopy: Molecular symmetry, linear rotor, symmetric rotor, spherical rotor, quantitative analysis, diatomic molecules, vibration-rotation spectroscopy, IR-spectra, Raman-Spectra, selection rules, polyatomic molecules.

Ultraviolet/Visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy: Diatomic molecules, transition dipole moment, Franck-Condon-Principle and Franck-Condon-Factor, polyatomic molecules, luminescence spectroscopy.

Modern spectroscopic techniques: Lasers and laser spectroscopy, multiphoton laser spectroscopy, synchrotron radiation (BESSY II and other sources), free electron laser spectroscopy and its applications.

Statistical Thermodynamics (Applications): Free energy, partition functions for rotation, vibration and translation and electronic excitation; chemical potential and thermodynamical properties, chemical equilibria, theory of transition states;


G. Wedler, "Lehrbuch der Physikalischen Chemie", Wiley-VCH, 1997.
P. W. Atkins, "Physikalische Chemie", Wiley-VCH, 2002, "Physical Chemistry", Oxford University Press,
J. M. Hollas, "Modern Spectroscopy", Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1992


Further Reading

G. Herzberg"Infrared and Raman Spectra", Van Nostrand, New York (1945 )
F. A. Hopf, G. I. Stegeman: "Applied Classical Electrodynamics", Krieger Publishing, Vol. I