Spectroscopic linelist question

[jl29488]

Hi,

I'm currrently doing a project on computing a molecular linelist (set of transitions) for a range of temperatures. I'm wondering though why hey need to be computed.. i.e why can you not measure the transitions in a lab. My molecule I'm looking at is called PH. Why do I need to model the spectra of this molecule computationally instead of experimentally? Is it because of the number of transitions that are involved?

Cheers

 

[ZapperZ]

Hi,

I'm currrently doing a project on computing a molecular linelist (set of transitions) for a range of temperatures. I'm wondering though why hey need to be computed.. i.e why can you not measure the transitions in a lab. My molecule I'm looking at is called PH. Why do I need to model the spectra of this molecule computationally instead of experimentally? Is it because of the number of transitions that are involved?

Cheers

You need to back up a bit here. Why are you doing this project? Doesn't the project have an overall description and purpose? Have you asked the person who is supervising your work?

There are many different reasons to do such modelling. The most obvious would be to see if the physics that is used will produce results that matches experimental observation. If they do, then you know that the model is correct to some extent. This is one way we can verify the physics and approximation that we use.

Complex atoms and molecules can't be solved exactly. There are no exact, closed-formed solutions to atoms heavier than helium. So in many cases, we have to make approximations to model atoms and molecules, and we have to know how exact these are. So the only way we can do this is to produce a model, check the outcome, and then compare with experiment.

It is ALWAYS a good idea to get a general purpose and reason why you are doing something. And the person who is in charge of this should be the person who holds such answer.

Zz.