Module 3 : Molecular physics and molecular structure
Lecture 30 : Raman Scattering
 
Raman Effect

This inelastic scattering by molecules was first discovered by Sir C. V. Raman in 1928. He was awarded Nobel Prize for this fundamental work in 1930.
It was predicted by Adolf Smekal in 1923 but named after one of its discoverers in 1928, the Indian scientist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman

Raman scattering is the inelastic scattering of a photon – change in photon energy
By nature weak effect (approximately 1 in 107 photons)

When strong light of 19436 cm-1 is scattered by a material consisting of molecules containing carbonyl group, its spectrum  exhibits two rather weak lines at 17786 cm-1 and 21086 cm-1 apart from the line at 19436 cm-1.