Book excerpt: The Raman effect is a most useful tool for the study of molecular vibrations and molecular structure. Information about the structure and symmetry of molecules, as well as about their vibrational energies can be obtained to a reasonable degree of satisfaction from their infrared and Raman vibrational spectra. The body of knowl edqe of the vibrational infrared and Raman spectra of molecules is immense and is now so well organized and understood that it is found to be represented in any stan dard upper level undergraduate curriculum in chemistry. The rotational energies of a molecule and quantitative details about its structure can only be obtained through the techniques of microwave, and high-resolution infrared and Raman spectroscopy of low pressure gases and vapors. The results of such investigations are of interest . not only to the academic scientists, but also to scientists and engineers who are active in applied fields of chemistry and physics, as well as the atmospheric sciences. This book deals with basic investigations of the Raman scattering of light by gases, with some attention also being given to liquid substances. After a brief in troductory chapter that delineates the historical development of Raman spectroscopy of gases, high-resolution rotation-vibrational and pure rotational Raman spectros copy is described in Chapters 2 and 3. The all-important intensity parameter, the Raman scattering cross section, is treated in Chapter 4, while the broadening of Raman lines due to the effects of intermolecular forces is taken up in Chapter 5.