The far‐infrared (FIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum, covering wavelengths between 10 μm and 1 mm, contains a wealth of information. In the laboratory, this range includes the vibrational and rotational spectra of molecules and the energy gaps of superconductors. And in astrophysics and cosmology, it is the realm of emissions from the earliest galaxies, which, due to their large redshifts, emit more than half of their energy in submillimeter radiation. Also in this spectral range is radiation from protostellar regions and planets, which are too cool to emit in the visible.
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© 2000 American Institute of Physics.
2000
American Institute of Physics
