Fourier transform spectrometers developed in three distinct spectral regions in the early 1960s. Pierre Connes and his coworkers in France developed remarkably sophisticated step-scan interferometers that permitted near-infrared spectra to be measured with a resolution of better than 0.0 1 cm{sup {minus}1}. These instruments may be considered the forerunners of the step-scan interferometers made by Bruker, Bio-Rad (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Nicolet although their principal application was in the field of astronomy. Low-resolution rapid-scanning interferometers were developed by Larry Mertz and his colleagues at Block Engineering (Cambridge, MA, USA) for remote sensing. Nonetheless, the FT-IR spectrometers that are so prevalent in chemical laboratories today are direct descendants of these instruments. The interferometers that were developed for far-infrared spectrometry in Gebbie's laboratory ,have had no commercial counterparts for at least 15 years. However, it could be argued that these instruments did as much to demonstrate the power of Fourier transform spectroscopy to the chemical community as any of the instruments developed for mid- and near-infrared spectrometry. Their performance was every bit as good as today's rapid-scanning interferometers. However, the market for these instruments is so small today that it has proved more lucrative to modify rapid-scanning interferometers that were originally designed …