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Details for Dr Colin Western

Personal details
Name Dr Colin Western
Job title Reader in Chemistry
Department School of Chemistry University of Bristol
Personal web page http://www.bris.ac.uk/chemistry/people/colin-m-western
Contact details This expert can be contacted via the University of Bristol Public Relations Office.

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work+44 (0)117 331 8092
email:
Qualifications M.A., D.Phil.(Oxon.)
Professional details
Membership of professional bodies MRSC
Keywords laser spectroscopy
molecules
transient molecules
laser system
nuclei
hyperfine structure
spectroscopy
Areas of expertise My research work concentrates on applying the very powerful techniques provided by laser spectroscopy to a variety of molecules, particularly transient ones. I have recently developed a laser system that has a resolution more than 10 times better than conventional pulsed dye lasers. Not only does this provide clearer spectra, but it reveals important details that other systems cannot see. For example, the work on PF revealed the small splittings in spectra arising from different orientations of the nuclei known as hyperfine structure, which gives much more direct information on the bonding in the molecule than other spectroscopic constants. The spectroscopy is normally done in the low temperature environment of a molecular beam. I also provide a program, PGOPHER, for simulating rotational and other types of spectra, which is becoming widely used in the molecular spectroscopy community.