Description

The MIT Spectroscopy Laboratory was founded in 1930 by the MIT Physics Department. The laboratory focused on fundamental spectroscopic work with complex atomic spectra. In 1939, this research resulted in the publication of the MIT Wavelength Tables. During World War II, the Spectroscopy Laboratory used spectro-chemical analysis to determine the purity of uranium samples for the Manhattan Project. After the war, the Laboratory turned to research into the field of infrared chemical spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules.