Temperature dependence of the absorption of nitrous oxide in the quartz ultra-violet

Abstract

The continuous absorption of nitrous oxide between 1900 and 2800 Å has been studied from 20 to 680°C. The absorption coefficient increases exponentially with temperature leading to apparent activation energies. It is proposed that the continuum is due to transitions from bending-vibrationally excited ground state molecules to a bent repulsive upper state. An electronic structure is assigned to this upper state and a small section of its potential energy curve derived.