The Absorption Spectrum of Water Vapor Beyond 10μ

Abstract

The absorption spectrum of water vapor has been remeasured in the region 10-25μ, the dispersing agent being a 60° KBr prism with a Wadsworth-Littrow mounting. The recording vacuum spectrograph is described. The necessary amplification is obtained by means of the Moll or the Firestone amplifier. The increased dispersion of this spectrograph shows the spectrum to be very complicated in this region and not yet fully resolved. No decision has been reached as to the nature of this spectrum, whether it is a vibration-rotation band, the near end of the rotation spectrum, or an overlapping of the two.