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'''Great job! 20/20'''

Much of Melveger’s research used Raman spectroscopy, a technique to identify molecules by how they scatter monochromatic light. Because this scattering is characteristic of a molecule’s vibrational and rotational modes, it can be used to study the effects of high pressure on molecular bonds. He verified Raman spectroscopy’s usefulness in studying and determining the properties of molecules under high pressure due to its sensitivity.

Melveger verified that Raman spectroscopy is also a useful methodology for determining the isotopic composition of KN18O3. Nitrate has a very distinctive Raman pattern because the scattering shifts when the mass of the oxygen atoms vary, but does not depend on the mass of the nitrogen atom. His conclusions acknowledge application beyond that specific molecule, for any quantitative estimate of isotopic oxygen constitution, implying that specifically it would be a good technique for unstable (and by necessity, Raman-active) molecules because it can quickly measure deteriorating molecules.

Melveger also used Raman spectroscopy to observe properties relating to the structure of poly(ethylene terephthalate), discovering that the density correlates with the bandwidth at half maximum intensity of the C=O stretching vibration for both the crystalline and amorphous molecules. His results suggest that rotational modes exist within the amorphous structure, and a planar structure stabilized through resonance exists for the crystallized one.