Infrared radiation, electromagnetic energy

Infrared radiation, electromagnetic spectrum and, 419, 422 energy of. 422 frequencies of, 422 wavelengths of, 422 Infrared spectroscopy, 422-431 acid anhydrides, 822-823 acid chlorides, 822-823 alcohols. 428, 632-633 aldehydes, 428. 730-731 alkanes, 426-427 alkenes, 427 alkynes, 427 amides. 822-823 amines, 428, 952 ammonium salts, 952-953 aromatic compound, 427-428, 534 bond stretching in, 422... 

Infrared radiation, i.e. radiated electromagnetic energy in the wavelength range of 780 qm to 1 nun, has been used as a heating source in industrial applications for decades. Previously it was used mainly in large scale industrial processes recently more applications in smaller scale plastic welding have been developed. 

In absorption spectroscopy a beam of electromagnetic radiation passes through a sample. Much of the radiation is transmitted without a loss in intensity. At selected frequencies, however, the radiation s intensity is attenuated. This process of attenuation is called absorption. Two general requirements must be met if an analyte is to absorb electromagnetic radiation. The first requirement is that there must be a mechanism by which the radiation s electric field or magnetic field interacts with the analyte. For ultraviolet and visible radiation, this interaction involves the electronic energy of valence electrons. A chemical bond s vibrational energy is altered by the absorbance of infrared radiation. A more detailed treatment of this interaction, and its importance in deter-... 

The vibrational motions of the chemically bound constituents of matter have fre-quencies in the infrared regime. The oscillations induced by certain vibrational modes provide a means for matter to couple with an impinging beam of infrared electromagnetic radiation and to exchange energy with it when the frequencies are in resonance. In the infrared experiment, the intensity of a beam of infrared radiation is measured before (Iq) and after (7) it interacts with the sample as a function of light frequency, w[. A plot of I/Iq versus frequency is the infrared spectrum. The identities, surrounding environments, and concentrations of the chemical bonds that are present can be determined. 

When you bake in the sun, your body absorbs energy from sunlight. Infrared radiation from a heat lamp in a restaurant keeps food warm until the server delivers the meal to the customer. When a microwave oven cooks food, the food absorbs energy from microwave radiation. Sunlight, infrared light, and microwaves are examples of electromagnetic radiation, which possesses radiant energy, as we discuss in Chapter 7. 

The transfer or conversion of energy is always associated with the emission of electromagnetic waves. We met this concept in its simplest form in Chapter 2, when we looked at the transfer of infrared radiation (i.e. heat). This emission of photons occurs because all objects contain electrically charged particles and, whenever an electrically charged particles accelerates, it emits electromagnetic waves. 

The word radiant energy is the energy transmitted from one body to another in the form of radiations. This energy has wave nature and because it is associated with electric and magnetic fields, it is also called electro-magnetic radiations. The visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, X-rays, radio-waves and microwaves are all different forms of electromagnetic radiations. 

Infrared radiation comprises that part of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies between microwaves and visible light (see p. 6). When it is absorbed by organic compounds, the energy is sufficient to cause the bonds within the molecules to vibrate, but not enough to break the bonds. 

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