Abstract

Samples of water vapor containing 90 and 40 percent of deuterium have been examined in the infrared, and the absorption bands v2 and v3 for D2O and v2 and v1 for HDO have been located. The position of v1 for D2O is known from Raman scattering. Of the nine fundamental frequencies for the three varieties of water, eight have now been observed. The ninth, v3 for HDO, should lie very close to the corresponding band for H2O and is apparently completely masked. Computed values of these frequencies already available agree very well with the measured ones. A fair degree of resolution is obtained in the bands v2. The fine structure observed agrees approximately with that predicted by using the molecular dimensions obtained by Mecke, viz., OH distance ∼0.95×10—8 cm and apex angle ∼105°. The magnitude of the interactions is so great, however, that precise determinations of these constants must await a more complete solution of the mechanical problem.