Laser absorption diagnosis of atmospheric gases

Man's intense industrial activity is the main source of atmospheric air pollution. Up to 500,000 different pollutants are ejected into the atmosphere every year [i], the problem of their control being very urgent. At present there is a whole arsenal of analytic methods for monitoring air pollution [i], among which the laser methods, by virtue of their considerable advantages, are attaining ever firmer positions. The present article examines one of the laser methods for determining the integral concentration of gases by means of a tunable C02 laser, the determination being based on the absorption of the laser's radiation by the molecules in the atmosphere.