Some Recent Spectroscopic Investigations of Low-Pressure Oxyacetylene Flames

Abstract

In this chapter we present a description of recent spectroscopic investigations of low-pressure flames. In particular we shall be concerned with the reaction zone of low-pressure oxyacetylene flames. As the effort devoted to such studies is relatively small this description is necessarily a short one. Very little, if any, attention has been paid to low-pressure flames from the practical point of view. The greater part of spectroscopic research deals with the visible and ultraviolet spectra of diatomic molecules like CO, CH, CN, C₂, NH and OH. An excellent review of the older literature can of course be found in Gaydon’s well-known book [1]. The studies of interest which specifically deal with metal atoms in low-pressure flames are very limited in number. We may mention here the work of Gaydon and Wolfhard [2] on the excitation of Fe, Pb and Tl in the reaction zone of various flames, and that of Broida and Shuler [3] for Fe. Quite recently an interesting experiment with Zri was reported by Hollander and Broida [4] (see Section 7.5). In addition to these there are the investigations of a somewhat preliminary character carried out by the author, which will be treated at greater length in Sections 7.3 and 7.4.