ABSTRACT
The application of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to the study of basic chemicals began in the 1800s. Following Herschel’s discovery of the phenomenon of radiation beyond the visible region,1 Abney and Festing recorded spectra of organic compounds photographically in 1881 and noted that they were related to the presence of hydrogen atoms.2 In 1896, Donath3 measured some organic compounds. In 1899-1900, Luigi Puccianti at the University of Pisa used a single quartz prism to study 15 hydro carbon compounds.4 In 1904-1905, William W. Coblentz, working at the Carnegie Institute in Washington, DC,5,6 measured the spectra of a number of compounds including benzene and chloroform from 800 to 2800 nm using a quartz prism and radiometer measured with the aid of a telescope.7 In 1922, Joseph W. Ellis at the University of California developed a recording spectrograph, measured a large number of organic compounds, and made many fundamental band assignments.8 Other early work on speciŒc chemicals included that done at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by Liddel and Wulf,9 and at the US Bureau of Standards by Rose,10 both in the 1930s.
