MEASURING LINE CENTERS FROM DIGITALLY RECORDED SPECTRA USING A MINICOMPUTER

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1973

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Ohio State University

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Abstract

A procedure has been developed and programmed for measuring spectral line centers from digitally recorded data. A PDP-12 computer is used to measure spectra which have been recorded on line from a high resolution spectrometer. The storage medium is addressable magnetic tape. The method of determining line centers involves mathematically reflecting or folding the spectrum about a line perpendicular to the wave number axis and examining the superposition of the reflected and original spectrum as well as their difference. The technique is similar to one applied to optical comparators for measuring photographic spectra. The computer is programmed to measure automatically the interferometer fringes used for calibration since these fringes are single, symmetrical, and of approximately equal height and spacing. The spectral lines are generally less uniform and are measured from the CRT display with operator interaction. Precision equal to or better than that achieved using other methods is obtained in much less time than previously required. The applicability of the method for measuring incompletely resolved lines will also be discussed. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation.

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Author Institution: Department of Physics, Michigan State University East Lansing

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