Identifying an element with radiowaves?

[Externet]

Hello all.

Is there any method to identify an element by flooding it with some radiofrequency and sensing any resonance or particularity to the element ?

 

The elements presence in distant planets is deducted by spectroanalysis; that is when there is visual contact. As the case of being irradiated with light wavelenght and observing the reflections.

What if there is total darkness, or inside an enclosure; how to identify them? Would atoms emit a signature that can be picked in the radiofrequency range ?

 

I know there is a tool to detect the presence of lead in electronic products entering Europe, but unsure if works with atomic principles or radiowaves.

 

Miguel

[swansont]

In many atoms and molecules there will be transitions that emit in RF or microwave.

 

http://www.setileague.org/articles/protectd.htm

[psynapse]

I am sure that I have heard of detectors able to show you the bond geometry and bond lengths of a any chemical substance purified to within reason. I recall X-Rays being used, they bombard your sample and the detector is able to analyze how the X-Rays interact with the substance.

[weknowthewor]

for this u study how the radar works. due 2 chemical reaction u will get the chemical composition of that substance.

[swansont]

for this u study how the radar works. due 2 chemical reaction u will get the chemical composition of that substance.

 

If you aren't posting from your phone, you shouldn't be using text-message shorthand.

 

Anyway, what does radar have to do with chemical reactions?

[Comandante]

Anyway, what does radar have to do with chemical reactions?

 

Unless chemical reactions produced some kind of EM radiation emanating from them to a long enough distance for some very sensitive radar to pick it up and identify what’s going on… I don’t see how radar could help?

 

As for identification of elements and molecules using non-chemical techniques, I am so far only familiar with NMR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_magnetic_resonance).

[Skye]

Generally the excitation is done by plasma, as in inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy.

 

I can't think of of a method that uses RF to irradiate the sample for element identification. In NMR the sample is irradiated with RF, but it is for determining molecular structure.

 

Psynapse seems to be talking about x-ray fluorescence (XRF), which can be used for indentifying elements.

[John Cuthber]

There are techniques using RF to identify chemicals- NMR is a case in point and the 21cm line from hydrogen is much used in astronomy. On the other hand it's rather difficult to get decent sensitivity because the energy level differences are small so thermal effects tend to wash out the spectra.