M. Bonner Denton, University of Arizona
Once the realm of a few theorists, Raman spectroscopy has surged in popularity during the last decade. Improvements in optics, lasers, detectors and data analysis techniques have turned this laboratory technique into an industrial tool used even in the harshest settings. For the uninitiated, Raman provides much the same information as infrared spectroscopy. It has, however, two important advantages. First, it works in water, where IR analysis does not. Second, using a device with no moving parts, Raman spectroscopy can be accomplished at any wavelength from the ultraviolet to the near infrared…