Raman scattering

Raman scattering or the Raman effect is the inelastic scattering of a photon which creates or annihilates an optical phonon.

Related Topics:
Inelastic - Photon - Phonon

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When light is scattered from an atom or molecule, most photons are elastically scattered (Rayleigh scattering). The scattered photons have the same energy (frequency) and, therefore, wavelength, as the incident photons. However, a small fraction of light (approximately 1 in 107 photons) is scattered at optical frequencies different from, and usually lower than, the frequency of the incident photons. In a gas, Raman scattering can occur with a change in vibrational, rotational or electronic energy of a molecule (see energy level). Chemists are concerned primarily with the vibrational Raman effect.

Related Topics:
Light - Scattered - Atom - Molecule - Photons - Rayleigh scattering - Frequency - Wavelength - Energy level

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In 1922, Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman published his work on the "Molecular Diffraction of Light," the first of a series of investigations with his collaborators which ultimately led to his discovery of the radiation effect, on the 28th of February 1928 which bears his name. The Raman effect was first reported by C.V. Raman and K.S. Krishnan, and independently by Grigory Landsberg and Leonid Mandelstam in 1928. Raman received the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his work on the scattering of light.

Related Topics:
India - Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman - C.V. Raman - K.S. Krishnan - Grigory Landsberg - Leonid Mandelstam - 1928 - Nobel Prize - 1930

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