Thermo Scientific MIRAN 205B Series, Instruction Manual, Page: 123 / 214

Chapter 13 Infrared Spectroscopy Tutorial
13-3
Figure 13-2. Herschel Experiment
People can see visible wavelengths as light and color but usually cannot feel them,
whereas people can feel infrared wavelengths, but cannot see them.
Certain analytical instruments, however, such as the SapphIRe Analyzer, use infrared
wavelengths from about 1.8 to 14.1
μ m. This range was chosen because most chemical
compounds show strong absorption of infrared energy in this region.
BASIC PROPERTIES OF WAVES
Wavelength
Figure 13-3 shows a cross-section of a typical wave, showing that the wave crests are
evenly spaced. The distance from a point on one crest to the equivalent point on the next
is called the wavelength, and is represented by the Greek letter lambda (
λ ). Infrared
wavelengths are usually measured in micrometers ( μ m).
Figure 13-3. Explanation of a Wavelength