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Instrumental
Methods - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy.
Identifying Elements.
Links in pink will take you to the GCSE Physics site.
When an element is heated it emits
light at
particular frequencies.
This explains the colours obtained from different metals with
a flame test.
A light detector can
identify all of the different frequencies
which are emitted for a particular element.
This is called the emission
spectrum
and can be used to identify elements
in a sample.
An emission spectrum can
be used by astronomers
to identify elements in other stars or galaxies (see examples)
or by the steel industry to control the precise amounts
of different elements in steel alloys.
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