Visible and near-ultraviolet absorption spectrum of liquid water

The optical absorption of pure liquid water in the 300-700-nm region has be en measured by use of a long (1.5-m) path-length cell. The absorption spect rum coincides well with the edge of previous data in the 200-320-nm region and provides reliable data in the 320-420-nm region that has until now been a region of considerable unreliability. The data obtained for the 420-700- nm region agree quite well with the means of the existing literature in tha t well-studied region. The absorptions in the 550-700-nm region show eviden ce for the overtones and combination tones of the well-known OH stretching frequency at 3500 cm(-1). (C) 1999 Optical Society of America. OCIS codes: 010.7340, 300.1030, 300.6540, 300.6550.