Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
Published on: July 1, 2019
Optical constants of sulfuric Acid; application to the clouds of venus?
Abstract:
With the purpose of obtaining the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index N; = n + ik, we have made quantitative measurements of spectral transmission and reflection of sulfuric acid solutions in the visible and near infrared. On the basis of the results, we have obtained values for n throughout the entire region and values of k in the near infrared together with upper limits for k in the visible region. These optical constants can be used to interpret the results of polarization studies of solar radiation that has been scattered by the clouds of Venus. We have Kramers-Kronig phase-shift analysis to obtain values of n and k from reflection measurements in the intermediate infrared region (400-4000 cm(-1)). Our measurements were made at 300 K on sulfuric acid solutions having concentrations by weight of 95.6, 84.5, 75, 50, 38, and 25%. If the particles in the Venus clouds consist of liquid droplets of sulfuric acid at a temperature of 250 K, comparison of existing Venus data with our data suggests that the acid concentration is probably higher than 70%. Various possibilities are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
IR and UV–Vis Spectroscopy of Carboxylic Acids
However, the stretching absorptions for the C=O bond vary depending on the structure of carboxylic acids. The C=O bond of the free carboxylic acids shows a higher stretching frequency, 1760 cm−1, while H-bonded carboxylic acids (dimers) exhibit stretching absorptions at a lower frequency, 1710 cm−1. The C=O bond of the...
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Woodward–Fieser Rules
IR Spectroscopy: Hooke's Law Approximation of Molecular Vibration
According to Hooke's law, the vibrational frequency is directly proportional to the...
Mixtures of Acids
A Mixture of a Strong Acid and a Weak Acid
In a mixture of a strong acid and a weak acid, the strong acid dissociates completely and becomes a source of almost all the hydronium ions...
Mixtures of Acids
In a strong and weak acid mixture, the strong acid dissociates completely and becomes a source of almost all the hydronium ions present in the solution. In contrast, the weak acid shows...
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Beer–Lambert Law

