Pg

 Provides a tool for identifying and quantitating elements  Investigates how changing the number of subatomic particles unleashing new sources of energy

 Emission of radiation that accompanies the spontaneous disintegration of unstable nuclei  Three types Alpha rays – positively charged particles, known as Helium without its electrons Beta rays - electrons Gamma rays – electromagnetic radiations similar to X-rays but of a higher frequency and energy

 Creates radioactive isotopes  Neutron is captured by the nucleus and a new isotope is formed with one additional neutron  Nuclei is activated and may immediately begin to decompose Emits radiation

 Technique of bombarding specimens with neutrons and measuring the resultant gamma-ray radioactivity  Provides a nondestructive method for identifying and quantitating trace elements  One of the most sensitive methods

 Major drawback = expense Must have access to a nuclear reactor as well as sophisticated analyzers needed to detect and discriminate gamma-ray emissions  Employed for characterizing trace elements present in metals, drugs, paint, soil, gunpowder residue, and hair

 Technique that tells how elements are combined into compounds  Aims a beam of x-rays at a crystal and studies how x-rays interact with the atoms of the substance under investigation  Applied only to a solid, crystalline structure About 95% of all inorganic compounds are crystalline in nature

 X-rays penetrate the crystal and the beam is reflected by each atomic plane Reflected beams produce a series of light and dark bands known as diffraction pattern  Each compound is known to produce its own unique diffraction pattern “fingerprint” of compound