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Article

Photoacoustic spectroscopy of solids

SEP 01, 1975
The generation of sound from a periodically illuminated solid, an effect first discovered in 1881, is now being used to study the properties of materials not accessible to optical spectroscopy.
Allan Rosencwaig

One of the most effective means for studying the properties of matter nondestructively is to observe how photons interact with it; that is, by optical spectroscopy. The two most common techniques in the optical region are absorption and reflection spectroscopy. But many organic and inorganic materials, such as powders, amorphous compounds, smears, gels and oils, can not be readily studied by either of these two techniques. Methods involving diffuse or attenuated total reflectance permit the study of some of these materials, but they possess severe drawbacks.

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References

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More about the authors

Allan Rosencwaig, Technical Staff of Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.J..

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 28, Number 9

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