The origin of Raman spectroscopy

Raman Spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy is a technique commonly used to identify molecules in the field of Chemistry by their vibrational, rotational and other low-frequency modes. It takes the help of spectroscopy, the interaction of matter with electromagnetic radiation, to show its results.

History

The Raman Effect was discovered in 1928 by the Indian physicists Sir C.V. Raman and K.S. Krishnan, who identified the effect in liquids causedf by sunlight. A narrow band photographic filter was used to produce monochromatic light. The phenomenon was observed when some rays of that light managed to pass through a crossed filter which was originally meant for blocking the rays. Raman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his pioneering discovery.

How Does Raman Spectroscopy Work – The Raman Effect

The process involves the inelastic scattering of a beam of monochromatic light by a sample material. Usually, a laser is used for generating this light that interacts with vibrating molecules, phonons or other stimulations in the system. This results in shifting the energy level of the laser photons to oscillate up and down and give information about the vibration patterns of the system, a phenomenon called the Raman Effect. It may be mentioned here that the infrared spectroscopy gives us a similar but complementary knowledge.