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Analytical Chemistry & Spectroscopy

Atomic Emission Spectroscopy

A technique that identifies and quantifies elements from the light their excited atoms emit.

Unit ppm

In depth

A high-temperature source excites the atoms, and the emitted wavelengths identify the elements while the intensities give their concentrations. Because all elements emit simultaneously, the technique is inherently multi-element, unlike absorption methods.

Examples in the real world

An inductively coupled plasma at 8000 K determining thirty elements in a single run.