Probing the Intermolecular Potential: Spectroscopy or Molecular Beam Scattering?

摘要

The use of purely spectroscopic methods in the study of collision-induced change has taken a major step forward very recently. Of particularly significance is the selection and/or detection of molecular and relative velocities by constructive use of the Doppler effect. In this way all components of the energy exchange, kinetic and potential, may be determined experimentally. In this review, methods by which this may be accomplished are described and some results of recent experiments shown. Some of the advantages of a purely spectroscopic approach are discussed and contrasted with the molecular beam approach. New and very detailed information on collisions and reactions could result from a more accessible technique and it is conceivable that widespread use of spectroscopic methods will reveal the underlying principles governing the basic processes of chemistry.