Book excerpt: This book originated out of a desire to combine topics on vibrational absorption, Raman scattering, vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and Raman optical activity (VROA) into one source. The theoretical details of these processes are presented in ten different chapters. Using dispersive and Fourier transform techniques, the instrumentation involved in these spectral measurements are given in three chapters. Major emphasis is placed on the newer techniques, i.e. VCD and VROA, with the conventional vibrational absorption and vibrational Raman scattering methods incorporated as natural parts of the newer methods. Features of this book: • Comprehensive coverage of vibrational circular dichroism and vibrational Raman optical activity. • Coverage of theoretical and instrumental details. • A comprehensive survey of VCD and VROA applications is included, so that the reader can get an overview of theory, instrumentation and applications in one source. The topics covered are of an advanced level, which makes this book invaluable for graduate students and practising scientists in vibrational spectroscopy.