Raman laser spectroscopy. Close-up of a display screen, laser beams, and microscope objectives. This LabRAM HR Raman laser spectrometer is being used to obtain phase and structural information for catalysts used in the thermochemical conversion process. It can also examine catalysts during the reaction process. The Raman effect, discovered in 1928, concerns the scattering of light by molecules. The resulting Raman spectroscopy is a powerful method of analysing molecular structure. Photographed at the Biomass Surface Characterization Laboratory (BSCL), at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colorado, USA.