The influence of the state of matter on the three vibrations of sulphur dioxide has been studied.For that reason the R a m a n spectra of gaseous SO:! at 12 atmospheres, of liquid SO:! at 40" and 70", of solutions of SOs in water and of mixtures of SO? with CCL (and SOa) were investigated.The difference between A T g a s and n r l i q u i d for the strongest R a m a n line of SO. , is equal to 6 cm--'. This is to be ascribed to the action of the electrostatic fields of the dipole molecules in the liquid.For solutions in water (at 50"). the dissolved SO2 is in a state comparable with the gaseous one. The concentration of HsSO:t in the solution can only be small.For the mixtures only small displacements of the Raman lines have been found.T h e spectrum of the mixtures consists in first approximation of a superposition of the spectra of the two components.The experimental arrangement used, is described in detail.W h e n light from a discontinuous source e.g. a mercury arc is directed into -for example -a liquid, the scattered light, examined in a direction perpendicular to that of the original beam, does not contain only the wave-lengths present in the primary radiation, the so-called R a y l e i g h lines, but also light of modified wave-length in much smaller intensities is present. This effect, discovered by R a m a n in 1928, has its origin in an exchange of energy 'between the primary radiation of the arc with the molecules of the liquid, governed by the simple relation given by S m e k a 1 :In this equation hv represents the energy of a quantum of radiation of the incident light with frequency v ( h is P 1 a n c k ' s constant), hv' is that for a quantum of the diffracted light with frequency v'.