Spectroscopy Raman

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ntum Theory). The energy of a single photon is directly proportional to the frequency , and therefore inversely proportional to the wavelength . This is expressed by the simple formula



where h, the proportionality factor, is Planck's constant and c is the speed of light. The particular colors, or wavelengths (and thus energies), of the light quanta emitted or absorbed by an atom or a molecule depend in a rather complicated way on its structure and on the possible periodic motions of its constituent particles, because this structure and these periodic motions determine the total energy, potential plus kinetic, of the atom or molecule. The constituent particles of an atom are its nucleus, which does not contribute to the emission and absorption of light because it is heavy and moves very sluggishly, and the surrounding electrons, which move about quite rapidly in distinct orbits; the atom emits or absorbs a quantum of light of a definite color when one of its electrons jumps from one orbit to another. The constituent parts of a molecule a...