## Atomic Spectroscopy vs molecular spectroscopy

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Marisa Gaitan 2D
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Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2020 9:47 pm
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### Atomic Spectroscopy vs molecular spectroscopy

On outline 2, one of the bullets says: "With respect to electron transitions that give rise to a UV or visible spectrum: understand the difference between electronic transitions in atomic orbitals (atomic spectroscopy) and electronic transitions in molecular orbitals (molecular spectroscopy)."

What exactly is the difference between these two and what basic concepts will we need to understand for this bullet? Thanks!

Neel Bonthala 2G
Posts: 98
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2020 9:40 pm

### Re: Atomic Spectroscopy vs molecular spectroscopy

Hey! So I had a similar question and after some digging around I think the major difference between atomic and molecular spectroscopy is the energy levels. In multi-electron systems, which are used in molecular spectroscopy, each subshell has a different level of energy due to a combination of electrostatic repulsions and shielding. But for the most part, I think we should realize that they are identical in many aspects as well.