ABSTRACT
From 1970 onwards, the methods of measuring the spectra of free radicals and molecular ions began to separate. One family of experiments was still based upon the detection of absorption and emission spectra, whereas the other group was based upon the use of synchrotron and related instrumentation. The experimentally derived molecular constants are compared with theoretical data. One of the areas in which the most progress has been made has been the development of pulse-to-pulse normalization of time-resolved Fourier transform emission measurements in the near infrared. The chapter aims to compare the calculations of molecular spectra, which required the improved performance of the desktop computers of 1991, with the spectral measurements made with the enhanced spectrometers. As the performance of desktop computers has been steadily improving, it is much easier to compare the experimental values with those of the current desktop instrumentation.
