A narrow range of wavelengths in which a substance absorbs light; a series of discrete absorption lines can be used as an unambiguous identification for many relatively simple chemical species.
Source:
PAC, 1990, 62, 2167
(Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990))
on page 2169
Transformed and rewritten from PDF version (entry
http://www.iupac.org/goldbook/A00041.pdf)
by: Miloslav Nic, Jiri Jirat, Bedrich Kosata, ICT Prague, Czech Republic
