The completion, adjustment, and operation of a grazing incidence vacuum ultraviolet spectrograph

Most gases, and particularly oxygen and nitrogen, are nearly opaque to radiation in the region from about 1800 Å downward to about 2 Å and hence, for spectroscopic work in this region, the removal of these gases is mandatory. Popular usage generally refers to the range mentioned above as the vacuum ultraviolet. That there remains much experimental work to be done in the vacuum ultraviolet has been pointed out by Boyce in his exhaustive survey of vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy. In order to fill in some of these gaps, Mr. L. H. Chapin, in the, spring of 1950, undertook the construction of a grazing incidence vacuum spectrograph for use in the region 100 Å to 1,000 Å. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Mr. Chapin was unable to complete the instrument in the time available to him, and the present author was assigned to the project in September, 1950 --Introduction, pages 1-2