Page "Absorption band" Paragraph 8

Electromagnetic transitions in atoms, molecules and condensed matter mainly take place at energies corresponding to the UV and visible part of the spectrum.

Core electrons in atoms, and a lot of other phenomena, are observed with different brands of XAS in the X-ray energy range.

Electromagnetic transitions in atomic nuclei, as observed in Mössbauer spectroscopy, take place in the gamma ray part of the spectrum.

The main factors that cause broadening of the spectral line into an absorption band of a molecular solid are the distributions of vibrational and rotational energies of the molecules in the sample ( and also those of their excited states ).

In solid crystals the shape of absorption bands are determined by the density of states of initial and final states of electronic states or lattice vibrations, called phonons, in the crystal structure.

In gas phase spectroscopy, the fine structure afforded by these factors can be discerned, but in solution-state spectroscopy, the differences in molecular micro environments further broaden the structure to give smooth bands.

Electronic transition bands of molecules may be from tens to several hundred nanometers in breadth.