what is atomic absorpsion spectroscapy?

Answer 1

fire a load of electromagnetic radiation at a sample, this can be light, IR, x-rays or whatever. Then the amount of radiation transmitted is detected at the other end and can be analysed to see how much has been absorbed. This can be broken down so that the absorbtion of em radiation at specific wavelengths or wavenumbers can be made into an exciting graph of wiggly lines. From this you can find characteristic absorption bands (like fingerprints) for certain chemical structures, then you can go get happy and dance because the air conditioning has not flooded the lab and set you back a few weeks.... weee happy days

haha I answered a chemistry Q, I hate chemistry

Answer 2

Atomic absorption spectroscopy in analytical chemistry is a technique for determining the concentration of a particular metal element within a sample. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy can be used to analyse the concentration of over 62 different metals in a solution.

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy was first developed during the 1950's by a team of Australian chemists, lead by Alan Walsh, working at the CSIRO (Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organisation) Division of Chemical Physics, in Melbourne Australia. Typically, the technique makes use of a flame to atomize the sample, but other atomizers such as a graphite furnace are also used. Three steps are involved in turning a liquid sample into an atomic gas:

Desolvation – the liquid solvent is evaporated, and the dry sample remains
Vaporisation – the solid sample vaporises to a gas
Volatilisation – the compounds making up the sample are broken into free atoms.
The flame is arranged such that it is laterally long (usually 10cm) and not deep. The height of the flame must also be controlled by controlling the flow of the fuel mixture. A beam of light is focused through this flame at its longest axis (the lateral axis) onto a detector past the flame.

The light that is focused into the flame is produced by a hollow cathode lamp. Inside the lamp is a cylindrical metal cathode containing the metal for excitation, and an anode. When a high voltage is applied across the anode and cathode, the metal atoms in the cathode are excited into producing light with a certain emission spectra. The type of hollow cathode tube depends on the metal being analysed. For analysing the concentration of copper in an ore, a copper cathode tube would be used, and likewise for any other metal being analysed. The electrons of the atoms in the flame can be promoted to higher orbitals for an instant by absorbing a set quantity of energy (a quantum). This amount of energy is specific to a particular electron transition in a particular element. As the quantity of energy put into the flame is known, and the quantity remaining at the other side (at the detector) can be measured, it is possible to calculate how many of these transitions took place, and thus get a signal that is proportional to the concentration of the element being measured.

Answer 3

Atomic-absorption (AA) spectroscopy uses the absorption of light to measure the concentration of gas-phase atoms. Since samples are usually liquids or solids, the analyte atoms or ions must be vaporized in a flame or graphite furnace. -- click link for details!

Answer 4

White light can be split into a spectrum of colours.
Atomic elements in an excited state absorb certain wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation causing dark lines in the spectrum.
Hence atomic absorbtion spectrum.

Answer 5

This is a technique where light emitted by burning a gas can be used to tell what is in the gas. The light is absorbed in different ways by the various elements, and the resulting spectrum of light is missing parts. you can use it to therefore tell the composition of the gas.

Very exciting!

Answer 6

way to see how much of a certain element is present in given samples measures in ppm

Answer 7

no idea, sorry.