QUANTITATIVE STELLAR SPECTROSCOPY WITH LARGE OPTICAL TELESCOPES

After noting that a generation of large optical telescopes is under co nstruction and commenting briefly on the problems in stellar spectrosc opy that these telescopes will address, the review focuses on the need for more complete information on the interactions between H atoms and the atoms whose spectral lines are to be investigated in stellar spec tra. The H-atom collisions may determine the atomic lines' widths and may influence the excitation and ionization of the atom.