Studies in the infra-red region of the spectrum. Part I.—Description of prism spectrometer and apparatus

Abstract

For a projected investigation on the rate of decomposition of an explosive gas, arsenic hydride, it became necessary to know its absorption in the region of the infra-red. From preliminary trials with a small infra-red spectrometer, a series of absorption bands possessing certain regularities was observed in this region, whereupon a larger prism instrument was obtained capable of giving values up to 17 μ. Interest in the absorption spectrum of arsenic hydride led to the exploration of the same region for phosphine and for ammonia. In the following papers will be described the apparatus and methods adopted and the results found for these three gases, together with a comparison of inter-relationships and their bearing on molecular structure.