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How Hazardous is our Environment? Sodium and potassium salts occur everywhere on Earth. In most locales they are sufficiently dispersed that they present no health hazard. They are also present in the majority of water supplies, either natural or managed. The use of pesticides, potassium permanganate (WHO List of Essential Medicines), and water softeners has impacted the Water Quality Index (WQI) in many areas. Runoffs from farming, industrial processes, and household uses artificially increase the levels. Other factors such as people flushing unneeded or expired prescriptions down the toilet instead of taking them back to the pharmacy for proper disposal can also influence the water system. For example, this probably accounts for much of the increase in lithium levels in urban water supplies. Humans in most settled areas treat water before use in a municipal system. This 1938 photo shows the future Bronx section of a New York water main (upper), and sewer lines (lower), during construction. These ducts are still in use today providing millions of litres of potable water to millions of people, every day, and then shunting away the grey or black water to treatment plants for reintroduction to the environment. Since sodium and potassium occur in most water supplies, any chemical treatment process is likely to increase the ratio of sodium and potassium in relation to the dissolved solids in the water. Indeed, most water treatment uses potassium permanganate as a powerful oxidant (which has no toxic by-products) to precipitate excess iron and remove the “rotten eggs” smell of hydrogen sulphide. Contemporary practices, such as using boiler feed water prior to treatment, results in the concentration of practically all soluble constituents of the boiler water into both sodium and potassium salts. This can have a major impact on the WQI. Flame Photometry to the Rescue! The determination of alkali metal concentrations in water supplies for a number of industrial processes is useful, too. Companies like those big names producing fizzy cola are so intent of guaranteeing the precision and consistency of their flavours that even using municipal water in the bottling plants is deemed inadequate. They filter the water through multiple massive sand filters before it even gets near their formulating process. Water for major brands of soda pop is so pure that it is completely tasteless, essentially nothing but H 2 + O. That is why travellers concerned with water quality at a foreign destination are advised to only drink major brands of soda pop (with no ice). Water Quality Monitoring is also used in fields like aquaculture to make sure fish are growing well, and not accumulating toxins, so they can be safely released in depleted ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. This is just as important in systems responsible for raising fish for direct human consumption. Obviously we should also be careful about dumping toxins in the environment, or in water bodies such as rivers and ponds. We should curtail synthetic inputs into our planet’s food chain and improve the management of waste treatment to leave a liveable world to sustain future generations. For industrial water monitoring, compound flame photometers have been developed, capable of giving simultaneous readings of multiple metals dissolved in water including the usual selection from Group I and II alkali/earth metals (Barium, Calcium, Lithium, Potassium and Sodium), plus, in some cases, more unusual elements like Caesium, Rubidium, and Strontium under specific controlled conditions. Even the quantity of Lead in petrol/gasoline, or Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, and Iron oxides levels in Portland Cement can be determined. While not typical, it is useful to know that such testing is possible. 1949 was the year that flame photometry became the de facto standard for measuring Sodium and Potassium in aqueous solutions. Less than a decade later, in 1958, the Michigan Department of Highways was investigating how to accurately determine iron concentrations (et al) in 17 samples of Portland Cement with flame photometry. The conventional methods were time consuming, expensive, complex, and subject to error. By doping standard solutions with known quantities of iron (and these other substances—see chart) in order to compensate for the interference in the flame, their results were consistent with the known formulations, expanding the range of things that could be successfully tested with flame photometry. The field of analysis has grown since, of course, and new techniques are available for stunningly accurate determination of substances that are outside the range of FP’s capabilities. This has decreased the use of FP for these unusual investigations. Nevertheless, the speed, efficiency, remarkably low operational costs, and the practicality of FP has kept it in the forefront of speedy assays for biochemistry, healthcare, water hardness assays, the food industry, soil science for farming, and much more. Healthcare, for example, uses it for urinalysis, blood analysis, serum analysis, and more because a common medicine, Lithium Carbonate, is used to treat bipolar disorder, but if there is too much in the body, it can cause renal failures, Central Nervous System failures, and even trigger or exacerbate diabetes. The food industry monitors salt levels in food much more intently nowadays because of health implications. Sugar is problematic, too, but since sugar is a hydrocarbon (C 12 H 22 O 11 ) composed of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen, none of which produce a colour change in an FP device, s a result, alternative methods have been developed as standard practice. The industry uses a known potassium standard solution mixed with the sample suspected to contain sugar, and if the potassium level rises, they know sugar is present. Although the method is an indirect test, it does accurately identify the presence of sugar in the solution in a qualitative way, but only hinting at a quantitative result. It’s best used when you need a simple yes/no answer. The Takeaway As you can see, Flame Photometric Analysis still has a valuable place in many forms of analytical chemistry. The sheer economy, speed, and shallow learning curve will assure its future use for many more years. Whether handled by a technician processing variegated samples, or whether the whole process is completely automated, continuous, and managed by Artificial Intelligence, Flame Photometry is not going away anytime soon. If you need Flame Photometer equipment, we’ll be here for you, happy to answer any questions you may have!

Why the same sample gives different results In Flame Photometry a stable flame is vitally important. The open flame of a lighted candle will flicker wildly if someone walks by, but can change even if someone opens a door on the opposite side of the room. This is why the flame is carefully shielded within the device—to avoid this obvious source of interference. More importantly, the burning gas is under fixed and carefully controlled pressure to maintain flame stability at the burner head. Even so, environmental factors can alter results. Consider airborne oxides, such as CO2, NO2, or Sulphur Dioxide, whose presence can affect flame temperature and how brightly the flame burns. These pollutants will dull the flame because the oxygen is bound too tightly to react, reducing the locally available oxygen. Indeed even airborne water (humidity) can change your results, as could airborne CH4. Controlling Influences Ideally we would build our laboratories far away from highways, factories, and farms but since that isn’t generally practical there is a much easier way. We have to be vigilant about our calibration curves. Calibration curves take all these factors into account, and create a baseline for your location. It is, however, not a “once-and-done” setting. The calibration ought to be repeated several times in a long session to compensate for changing humidity, temperature, etc., or each time you change the materials you are testing for. How to Calibrate The emitted light from the flame is read by photodiodes as each species is being aspirated into the flame. Using previously prepared molar solutions of, for example, 10ppm, 20ppm, or 50ppm, you can calibrate your flame photometer for the expected range of your test substances. Equally important for calibration purposes is de-ionised (DI) water so you can set your absolute zero mark (or Blank). First, however you must allow the instrument to warm up according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Instrument warm up time will vary from brand to brand but for BWB instruments we suggest 20 minutes, all the while ensuring that you are aspirating DI water to keep that burner at a steady temperature. Calibration processes will vary per manufacturer so we’ll concentrate our example on the BWB range of simple to use instruments. Select calibrations from the main menu and select the elements you wish to calibrate, you can select just the one element or all of them. Now select how many calibration points you wish to generate your curve from. Remember that the Blank is excluded, most of our instruments offer up to 10 points of permissible calibration, in this example we’ll work with a 3 point calibration. Once the calibration configuration has been completed the machine will prompt you to aspirate the Blank calibration standard, in most cases this is the zero and is therefore de-ionised water. Ensure the system is aspirating this from a sample cup and press accept. The instrument will automatically monitor and store a stable reading and prompt you for the next point. Time to begin calibrating your curve, start with calibration standard 1, ensuring that the concentrations throughout your calibration standards increase in concentration, so point 1 needs to contain the lowest concentrations, here we’re going to use 10ppm. Aspirate the calibration standard and press accept. Again the instrument will monitor the reading for a stable result and store this to begin generating your curve. The instrument will prompt you for calibration standard 2, swap over your sample cups and ensure that you are aspirating the correct standard before pressing accept. Lastly you’ll be asked to aspirate calibration standard 3, again ensure the correct sample is aspirating and press accept. Upon completion the machine will revert to the main menu whereby you can view your calibration data or get on with running samples. You are now properly calibrated and may begin testing your samples. Don’t forget to sample DI water between each sample (for a few seconds) to make sure a prior sample doesn’t interfere with the next one. Time to get to work!

Keeping co-workers and yourself safe Any piece of laboratory equipment can pose a hazard. Over time casual attitudes have resulted in the creation of some pithy tongue-in-cheek “Laboratory Rules & Observations”, such as: You cannot detect an odourless gas by its smell; Hot Glass looks exactly the same as cold glass; Never lick the spoon; Assume all unmarked beakers contain toxic, fast-acting poison; Always work with a partner so you have someone else to blame; Forget “Lab Safety”! I want Super Powers… …and so on. What are the Hazards of Flame Photometers? Fire The most obvious clue about Flame Photometers is in the name. Flames generate heat and pose burn and ignition hazards. The hottest exposed part of the flame photometer will always be the chimney and its exhaust gases. You should never reach over an operating flame photometer. For their own safety, you should always make fellow workers aware that the unit is in operation, either through direct communication or signage. Irrespective of your justification or reasoning, never leave the machine unattended when the flame is lit. Long hair should be constrained in a hair net or other approved way. Similarly, loose clothing should be avoided, and a lab-coat is probably the safest clothing choice at all times, since even the poorest quality are at least marginally flame resistant. Flammable liquids, especially volatiles, should be kept clear of the work area. Those volatiles should preferably be stored in a fume cabinet to prevent ignition of their off-gassing products. Before igniting and operating a flame photometer, all gas fittings should be checked for tightness. This should be done at the beginning of each session. The very best units, such as the BWB XP Flame Photometer or the BWB Flash Photometer Range Flame Photometer, come equipped with a flame/spark arrestor on the chimney. Nevertheless, you must still maintain a safe distance beneath anything flammable. A space of at least half a metre is advised, but do not operate a flame photometer beneath any cabinets. Chocolate bars will melt; chemicals will be denatured; the contents and cabinetry themselves will age prematurely, even if they are above the half metre level. Long exposure, even to low heat levels, will accumulate in closed cabinets. Pollution Another of the potential hazards arising from flame photometry comes from the old adage “You breathe what you test”. That is why it is important to operate a flame photometer in an appropriate space where any combustion products cannot accumulate. Seek advice from a ventilation specialist. Multiple units installed in a lab always require operation under a ventilation hood. This is so that any toxic or poisonous substances in your samples are carried safely away, and do not spread, permeate, or concentrate within the lab itself posing a health risk. Consideration should be given to whether the samples tested will have any hazardous or toxic material in them and whether a capture technology would be appropriate for the chimney gases. Used samples should be disposed of in properly marked (frequently emptied) containers. Testing materials can often be biohazards. Additionally, when you draw Standard Samples for calibration, do not return any leftovers to the original containers. That is a different kind of pollution, but can have consequences that can affect your lab’s accuracy (and reputation) for months or years. Once drawn, they are considered contaminated and may not be re-stored. Electricity General housekeeping is important and this low-risk difficulty shouldn’t arise if you’re a tidy worker. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that flame photometers are connected to the mains, and there are electrical risks. Typically you use Doubly Distilled (DD) water (or Type I, Milli-Q, or Ultrapure water), and that is an electrical insulator. Once you introduce ions of any sort, however, water becomes a conductor. Equally important, the covers on the device should never be removed by operators. This task is left to experienced service personnel following specific maintenance procedures. It is also prudent to mention that fuel gases for the device, evolved gases, and many volatile vapours can be ignited by a spark. This leads to… Explosion Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for this work includes gloves, safety glasses, and whatever measures are dictated by your company policies or local regulations. Never remove your safety glasses while working with the machine. Gases generated within the equipment may be low risk, but leaking fuel such as butane, propane, or natural gas can pose a Medium level of risk. Fittings should be connected, and then checked for integrity with mild detergent and water solution that will produce bubbles if a leak is present. Alternatively you can use a commercial sprayable leak detection solution, or a digital gas sniffer. Hopefully we don’t need to say this, but: Never attempt to check for gas leakage with an open flame! Depending on regulations for your region, you may be legally required to disconnect fuel sources and store them in a different, secure, and locked location when the machine is shut down. This is almost certainly true in every locale for fresh, full, unconnected fuel cylinders. Those must be stored away from flames and operating equipment, usually outdoors with lots of ventilation in the event of a leak. Know your local regulations because Federal or Board-empowered inspectors can be relentless and strict. Even after beginning operations, if a fellow lab worker reports smelling gas, the unit should be shut down and the gas supply turned off. The area should be well-ventilated, and, once it is clear, the fittings should be re-inspected with care. Gas supply hoses provided with the unit are up to U.K. standards. If using any alternative, assure that it is up to your local/national standards. Snap-on connectors are generally less reliable than screw-on connectors so keep that in mind and follow the appropriate guidelines. Physical Strains and Injury Our units typically mass in the range of 11 kilograms (~25 lbs.) and should be lifted with care, keeping the back straight and using the legs muscles to do most of the work. If this is too much for you to lift alone, obtain assistance. For a similar reason, small propane or other fuel tanks are recommended to make replacement easier and safer. Finished for the Day When the work is complete for the day, before you shut off the flame, DD water or its equivalent should be run through the machine for 10-15 minutes. This clears and cleans the mixing chamber and the nebuliser itself making sure it is ready and uncontaminated for its next use. The Takeaway Even the high safety standards built into each BWB flame photometer can only protect people so much. For example, if the flame is extinguished, the machine can go into a safe mode to prevent damage or injury. It does not attempt to re-light itself unless the operator intervenes. No one should operate these devices without proper training and supervision until competency is well-established. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our equipment. We’d love to hear from you!

Preparation, Set-up, Use & Shut-down Preparation The flame photometer is a wonderful laboratory instrument that provides consistent reliable results in a remarkably short period of time. It has its place in laboratories, of course, but it can also be found as an in-line part of a production line in everyday processes, too. You cannot simply turn it on and expect it to function, however. There are steps to be followed to achieve accurate results. Some things you have to do every time you prepare to use it; some things only need to be done periodically. One of the most important preparations is to possess or install a water deioniser. Distilled water from the local grocery market is insufficiently pure. For set up, it is advised to prepare de-ionised (DI) water in the cleanest possible equipment. This is essential to establish a completely reliable 0 ppm reading for the water carrier. Once you have a source secured, you need to obtain or make control samples with known properties for calibration purposes. The five most likely candidates for testing will be a selection of either; Barium, Calcium, Lithium, Potassium, and Sodium. Assembling a collection of Calibration Standards of Sodium (Na) samples, you might elect to have a range of standards such as 25ppm, 50ppm, and 75ppm, for example. This allows you to generate a far more accurate calibration curve. Your calibration standards should always be in the range of particular interest, never allow your sample concentration to extend beyond the highest point of the calibration curve as results are only extrapolated at this point and no element has a completely linear calibration curve. If your instrument allows for it then a multi-ion calibration standard should be produced, a multi-ion standard ensures that the calibration standard matches your sample composition and matrix as close as is possible and therefore produces more accurate results. All of the BWB instruments allow for multi-ion calibration curves to be generated. Next you will need an air compressor, the compressor is used to mix air with the propane (butane or sometimes methane) gas to produce a hot blue flame, without the correct mix of air the flame will burn rich and will appear yellow in colour. This type of flame is not well suited for flame photometry. The compressor also works through the nebuliser to draw your liquid sample into the mixing chamber, this process known as venturi is similar in principle to a carburettor in a motor vehicle. The BWB range of instrument all include a built in compressor so there are no additional requirements. If your instrument doesn’t have a built in compressor, it is important to carefully select an appropriately designed compressor. The flame inside the device is particularly sensitive to pressure changes in the fuel stream, and compressors that work from pistons, diaphragms or similar mechanisms cause pulsations within the flow, these pulses can dramatically affect readings. Large pumps experience an increase in pressure during the compression-stroke and a significant fall-off on the refill-stroke. While bottled compressed air removes this variable, it is the more expensive option operationally speaking. Set-up Presuming a typical setup, the flame photometer would be placed on a firm level surface, either with an exhaust hood above, or plenty of space between the chimney and anything flammable overhead. Connect the fuel-supply safely and properly according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Connect the compressed air (if required) safely and according to instructions. Turn on the compressor and set its pressure and flow rate according to the flame photometers manufacturers instructions. Plug in the unit and let it complete its self-diagnostic and start up routine, if the instrument includes this feature. Open the main valve of the fuel tank slowly. Open the fuel valve, slowly on the flame photometer and press the start button until the flame lights. On more elderly models, it may require the operator to physically light the gas stream, usually by applying a flame above the burner while the chimney is removed. The flame will generally be bright, high, and orange-yellow when it starts. Use the gas/air control knob on the flame photometer to adjust the gas/air ratio until the flame becomes a passive, steady blue flame, to the height advised by the manufacturers instructions. Adjust the fuel control knob if the flame is still too high or low and alter the air to attain the steady blue flame again. Replace the chimney, if removed. The BWB instrument range all feature an automatic ignition sequence and automatic air flow adjustment with the built in compressor. For these instruments, open the manual gas valve on the side of the instrument approximately 1 turn and press the ‘Turn on Flame’ command, once lit, simply adjust the height of the flame using the gas control knob to the height as indicated in the manual. Use Place a beaker of DI water on the sample tray and place the sample tube in the water and let it run for the warm up period as indicated by the manufacturer. The flame should be unaffected in changes to visible colour. Calibrate the instrument using the instructions supplied from the manufacturer, this process can vary from one instrument to another. Older models use a variety of knobs on the front panel to adjust a digital readout, typically discplyed on a LCD, to set the 100% reading and blank reading. Other, more advanced models such as those offered by BWB offer digital calibration, simply enter the concentration of each element into the instrument menu and the system will monitor the flame for a stable reading and begin the aqcusition proves to generate a calibration curve. Once the system is calibrated you can begin running your samples for analysis. Now you can bring in an “unknown” sample. Take the sample tube out of the DI water, and place it in the sample. It may wander a count or two in each direction when it reaches maximum, so after 30 seconds, note the middle number of any variance, and record that number. The BWB systems also offer automatic analysis and result determination so that user error can be removed from the process. It is advised that you check the calibration periodically in case the Zero or Control Value has drifted. This can be performed using a calibration standard and ensuring that the system samples the standard within the allowable percentage of error. Shut-down Upon completion of testing, you need to shut the instrument down. First allow it to run for a few minutes with just DI water, so its internal parts are flushed of any contaminants and ready for the next user. Turn off the fuel regulator knob, and close the valve on the fuel gas cylinder. Leave the air running for another five minutes with the sample hose still in the DI water. Finally, turn off the flame photometer, and shut down the air compressor. Alternatively, with a BWB flame photometer, simply navigate the menu to ‘Turn off flame’ after allowing the DI water to flush the system for about 5 minutes. The Takeaway The flame photometer is a very useful piece of equipment and can be operated by most technicians with minimal training. It has a small learning curve for users and yet can still obtain reliable and exceptionally accurate results. There are tasks where the analyses of inorganic metals in bio-samples are essential, such as research, genetics labs, and more. However, there are applications in industry, such as food and beverage processing, municipal water quality monitoring, municipal waste water treatment, and more, where it is absolutely vital. Sometimes it is necessary to spend hundreds of thousands or millions to obtain Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometers or similar analytical equipment. In many cases that is well-beyond the actual need, so don’t overbuy. If the majority of your work can be done with a Flame Photometer, that is your best deal.

Ease, Speed, Cost, and Reliability Famed in laboratories around the world, the Bunsen Burner was created as more than just a clean, smokeless way to heat glassware and power chemical experiments. Robert Bunsen and Peter Desaga discovered that pure substances each had a unique spectroscopic signature when the resulting light from heating was passed through a prism. This is what would lead them to their discovery of two new elements, named cesium and rubidium in 1860 and 1861, respectively. Such spectra could be rendered either as absorption or emission images. The absorption spectra can be slightly more accurate since the absorption band is fixed based on the electron configuration of the atom itself. The emission band is dependent on the material absorbing the energy, and then re-emitting it by fluorescence, so if the flame is not entirely stable the emissions can be somewhat wider. Essentially, many find it is easier to see the black lines of missing radiation to make the identification than the brighter lines against a fainter background of color. Both provide largely the same information, and the output is dependent on equipment, preference, or individual needs. In either case they provide an irrefutable fingerprint to identify a specific substance, if it is present. Unfortunately, detecting most substances requires much more sophisticated equipment, namely Gas Chromatographs or full-fledged Mass Spectrometers. Indeed, even these are giving way to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). They all represent very large investments in equipment, training, expendables, and most importantly, time. These techniques allow us to detect down to the nmol/l level of accuracy for aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth, bromide, cadmium, chloride, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, iodine, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, tin, vanadium, and zinc. Fortunately, in medicine, biotechnology, pharmacologic development, food production, water treatment, and many other fields, there is a method for detecting five inorganic substances from Group I or Group II alkali metals. This faster, more efficient technique is called Flame Emission Spectroscopy (FES) or simply Flame Photometry. It possesses a much narrower capability for detection, but fortunately it is a surprisingly useful range. To anyone familiar with the technique, these five metals, Barium, Calcium, Lithium, Potassium, and Sodium present easily identifiable spectral lines. Detecting their presence, and determining the quantity through light intensity, can speed medical diagnosis, identify insufficiently treated wastewater, or contribute to industrial processes in innumerable ways. The biggest advantage of FES is that it can be done by hand (e.g. assaying body fluids), or can be incorporated into an ongoing automated process (processing of food, water management/treatment, etc.) providing near instant or continuous results at a remarkably low cost. The disadvantage is that the heat of a flame is not sufficient to loosen the electrons responsible for generating the color of the flames in every metal. For example, Magnesium binds its electrons much more tightly and therefore won’t produce a colored flame by this method. The Takeaway While more information is never a bad thing, when there is a cost attached, only the information you need is worth paying for. Flame Photometers are the perfect intermediate answer for many vital questions. They offer unsurpassed Ease, Speed, Cost Efficiency, and Reliability, and all within a dramatically shortened timeframe. Or more succinctly: a delivery person shouldn’t invest in a Lamborghini Countach when an e-bike will suffice!

BWB Technologies and giving back to the community with Circus Starr At BWB Technologies we are always looking for brand new ways to ensure we can give back to our community, with that in mind we have sponsored the latest local big top show from Circus Starr. Circus Starr believes that anything is achievable. They have created a tut-free zone, a performance where yelling, dancing, and bouncing around are encouraged, because they understand that taking special needs children or families to conventional events can be difficult. At their circus, everyone is sincerely urged to let go of their worries, take part, and be themselves. They introduce children and families to the circus who may not have previously found it amusing. They are aware that going to the circus together as a family builds bonds, encourages creativity, and gives people the confidence to face challenges head-on. They tour the UK with the world's best circus performers and put on 148 breathtaking animal-free concerts each year. Recently, Circus Starr held two performances in Reading, which we were delighted to support. Together, these performances drew over 1000 spectators, and it's obvious from the photos that everyone had a great time. One of the ways we give back to our area and collaborate with companies we believe are doing great things for the local community is by sponsoring organisations like Circus Starr. Keep an eye out for Circus Starr and their next performance, and keep checking back to see what more we're working on as a company to give back.

Fast, efficient results in moments History When Robert Bunsen and his assistant Peter Desaga invented his clean flame burner in the mid-18th century, it was for the purpose of spectral analysis or atomic spectroscopy. The colourless flame allowed Bunsen to reveal two new elements (caesium and rubidium), among his many other important contributions to science. Gas Chromatography and Spectroscopy are revealing of extremely fine details in analysis but they are time-consuming, grossly overpowered, and expensive processes for many day-to-day applications in continuous or frequent analysis. They require consumables such as diffusion columns and high levels of maintenance. This is where the hyper-efficient field of Flame Emission Spectroscopy (FES), or more commonly, Flame Photometry, comes to the rescue. The process can be human-powered for infrequent testing or fully automated for continuous process monitoring. Purpose A flame photometer uses a spectroscope for isolating and identifying quantities of inorganic elements, particularly in biological environments, such as hospitals and the food industry. By introducing an unknown test substance via a neutral/known liquid carrier to a stable colourless flame, characteristic visible spectral light is emitted. The spectral lines for each substance are unique to that substance, and the intensity of each line indicates precisely how much of a substance is present in a given sample. This allows the rapid identification of the Group I and Group II alkaline/alkaline earth metals including Sodium, Potassium, Lithium, Barium and Calcium (and occasionally others, depending on process and equipment). Isolating these metals is very important in blood chemistry analysis, for example, or for the detection of the presence and the quantification of nutrients in food products. Pharmacology often uses flame photometry as one phase of their quality control for their products. How Does It Work? Fuel and air are mixed in a very controlled way to produce the “ideal flame” as Bunsen intended while being fed with atomised distilled water. Various control samples are introduced to allow adjustment of the machine to its most accurate “zero” state. The test sample is then introduced and the dissolved or suspended metal is disassociated by the heat of the flame (thermal excitation) into discrete ionic atoms which then move their valance electrons up to the next higher energy level where they are not stable. This is caused by the absorption of photons. As the atoms decay to their normal lower energy state, they emit photons, generating a characteristic colour for the element being investigated. The light can be analysed with either absorption techniques or emission techniques, depending on the need and device design. Typically you will see colours in the actual flame itself such as violet for potassium, green for barium, red for lithium, yellow for sodium, and so on. The flame is generally visible to the investigator, and it is useful to monitor it for anomalies. The greatest advantage of flame photometry is that samples with mixed contents will produce the combined spectrum of all the substances, which can then be recognised individually. As previously stated, the intensity of each line set also indicates their individual concentrations. The upper image contains the two metals shown beneath it once the emission lines are separated. The Takeaway Flame Photometry is fast and efficient. Units can be used with individual human testers for rapid assessment or can be fully automated to continuously test samples in a process, eliminating the necessity for a human attendant. They are also extremely economical to operate, needing only clean fuel, an air compressor, and the unit itself. Low maintenance requirements make flame photometry an excellent choice for analytical needs.

How can wavelength and frequency affect the characteristics of light? The visible light spectrum makes up 100% of all optically observable light to humans. But how is the spectrum affected by a change in frequency and wavelength? Here, we look at the properties of light and how it interacts differently with our natural environment. What are the classifications of light? To start this discussion, it would be useful for us to have a list of all the classifications of light in the electromagnetic spectrum. Starting at extremely high frequency (300EHz) but low wavelength (1pm) electromagnetic radiation would be gamma rays. This is followed by hard X-rays at 30EHz-3EHz and 10-100pm, soft X-rays at 3Phz-300PHz and 1-10nm, and ultraviolet light at 3PHz-300THz and 10-100nm. Then comes the visible spectrum between 300THz-30THz and 1 micrometer to 100 micrometers, followed by infrared radiation at 30THz-3THz and 10-100micrometers. Finally, there are microwaves and radio waves at wavelengths between 100,000km and 1mm and of frequencies of around 300GHz to 3Hz. What trends are seen when moving from one side of the spectrum to the other? One of the most telling properties of electromagnetic radiation is the energy carried in a wave. In a high frequency, low wavelength waveform, there is a massive amount of energy stored in the wave. This energy travels through the wave as kinetic energy due to the wave-particle duality of electromagnetic radiation. Imagine the increased distance that a high frequency wave is travelling in comparison to a low frequency wave, due to there being many more peaks and troths present over the same distance. This explains how there is more energy in said waveform. What happens when the energy increases? With this increase in energy comes another property that follows an inverse trend. As the energy increases alongside frequency, its ability to penetrate solid matter decreases. This is explained by the Beer-Lambert Law, which states that as a wave penetrates further into a material, its intensity is decreased. This would of course be due to wave-particle interactions, where the light is absorbed by the electron shells of atoms and molecules. This penetrative property is best visualised by gamma radiation. This is an extremely high-frequency, high-energy and low-wavelength electromagnetic radiation. If able to enter the human body, it would do massive damage to our internal organs and would cause cancer or even death. However, in reality it does not have the ability to penetrate through a piece of paper.

The first step in identifying the circumstances under which thermodynamically different phases arise and coexist at equilibrium is to draw a phase diagram. These diagrams are useful tools for scientists to investigate what state the majority of matter present in a system is at a given temperature and pressure. Among the most important points to note on these graphs are the critical point and the triple point. What is the critical point? A critical point is the “ending” between notable differences in density between phases of matter. Here, the densities of two different phases of matter, such as the gas liquid phase, are identical. Therefore, there is no longer value in differentiating between the two different phases. This is primarily due to the fact that phases and states of matter are primarily measured by their density. The density of phases of identical molecules will always result in the same trend. Solids have the least energy and thus the most structure, followed by liquids and then gasses. The trend follows higher energy and less structure as phases change from solid to gas. The critical point however is essential to our understanding of thermodynamics. It was first found by Charles Cagnaird, who noticed that carbon dioxide could be liquified at 31 degrees centigrade. However, if moving to a higher temperature, increasing pressure did not manage to liquefy carbon dioxide even at levels as high as 3,000 times our current air pressure on earth. What is the triple point? The triple point is where matter exists as liquid, solid and gas. This is importantly used as the baseline for the temperature scale of Kelvin, where the triple point of water (273.16) was the baseline reference point for temperature. In modern times, however, this has been altered by the 2019 redefinition of SI units, where it is slightly different. The reference point was changed from a set definition and value to that of a measured result. This means that while the value is not wildly inaccurate, it is better to physically measure your triple point personally than to trust a sourced value if you have adequate equipment and instrumentation to investigate these values. Different examples of phase diagrams To go above and beyond the standard three-phase phase diagram, there are many advanced examples of phase diagrams. A commonly-observed one is how temperature and pressure affects the crystal structure of ice. In this instance, there are subtle differences in the alignment of water molecules when frozen which are significantly different and stable enough to be considered different from one another.

Flame photometry is used around the world every day within a number of different industries. But what is the difference between multichannel and single-channel, here's how you can know the difference. It is the process of measuring the intensity of light emitted when an element is exposed to a flame, using a wavelength of a colour. Based on flame testing, a flame photometer is a scientific instrument which is generally used to measure the concentration of ionic species in aqueous solutions. It is common practice to denote a style of flame photometer with respect to the number of channels they have. However, what is meant by a channel can be a little vague if you are not familiar with flame photometers. What is a channel in flame photometry? A channel is found close to the burner head. It acts as a vector pathway for light to use to focus the beams of light from the flame to the array of photodiodes where the conversion of light into packets of electrons - and, thus, data - occurs. At BWB-Tech, our flame photometers operate with up to five channels of detection. Each channel is aimed at a photodiode measuring a unique wavelength. The wavelengths these photodiodes are set to detect are selected based upon the emission lines of the customers’ ions of choice that are possible to detect. Within reason, the photodiodes you can select for metal analysis in a BWB-Tech flame photometer are customisable for your specific needs. Can you have multiple channels of the same ion? BWB-Tech offers the option to have multiple channels of the same metal ion to improve the averaging and, therefore, precision of your analytical methodology. Our standard edition flame photometer, The BWB XP Flame Photometer, comes with the following ion channels as standard: ● Sodium ● Potassium ● Calcium ● Lithium ● Barium How does a single-channel flame photometer differ from a multi-channel flame photometer? A single-channel flame photometer would be an example of the early editions of the photometer. The earliest example of this is a length of platinum wire being used as a conduit for water to steadily flow down into a flame. This was then compared with a set of slides that were calibrated to a set of delicately-crafted calibration standards. Due to there only being a single ion measurable at a time as well as a single “channel” for the analyst to observe the flame, the instrument is a single-channel flame photometer.

In flame photometry, the stability of your flame can be affected by a huge range of different factors. So today we go over the stability of a flame photometer and its effect on reproducibility. In this blog, we will look at one practical factor and one totally impractical one. How the machining of parts can affect the stability, as well as the sheer randomness of particle interactions. The best way to discuss how parts are machined and put together is to look at variations in hand-crafted items. For example, a potter could make two identical pots. However, are these two pots actually identical? It depends on how closely you wish to analyse the differences. When applying this train of thought to photometry and analytical chemistry, the answer is, in as much detail as possible. In a perfect world, we would have every single atom in the exact same place in our instruments. This would make them as uniform as possible, so mechanical factors in the instrument itself do not cause fluctuations. How is stability affected in flame photometry? The burner head of a flame photometer has the most impact upon the flame’s shape. When manufacturing these heads, any small error in drilling or shaping the final exit point - such as an unremoved burr of metal on the tip - could cause a point. The gas could hit this point and shoot off in a random direction. This would cause the flame to flicker which, of course, we would like to keep to an absolute minimum. Another example of how parts could affect the stability is the air compressor. The air compressor may not emit a constant flow of pressure from its exit. Instead, it may be emitting a wave of high- and low-pressure waves. When this comes to be burnt, the fuel/air mixture will alternate rapidly. This would cause a massive problem when trying to make a flame as static as possible. What is randomness in chemistry? Let's explore just how random things get when they are scaled down. After all, we are looking at what is basically an interaction between clusters of balls hitting other clusters of balls. If that collision has sufficient energy, then a reaction will occur. When you scale things down to this molecular level, things get messy, which is why chemists prefer to look at things in the unit of Moles. Even if we had two cylinders filled with the exact same quantity of molecules of gas, the two cylinders’ contents would never feasibly be in the exact same juxtaposition as the other cylinder. So, there are always going to be things which are out of our control - no matter how hard we try to fix them. We can always strive to reduce these factors in the quest of getting a perfect product. However, there will come a point when trying to refine something further becomes futile in comparison to the actual result, gained by fixing something so small.

Flame stability can be affected by a number of different factors when using a flame photometer. But today we ask about the effect gaseous flow has on flame photometry. At BWB-Tech, our built-in air-compressor technology enables ambient air to be used in our flame photometers, instead of pressurised gas canisters like other manufacturers’ products. However, the pressures of the fuel and air mixture, together with its throughput of the instrument, affects the stability of our all-important burner head flame. In the instrument’s “rubber jungle” - which you could see if you opened it up - gas and air pass through the pipework and into the mixing chamber, where the sample is introduced. Thinking logically, it would bring us to believe that fluctuations in the pressure would have a direct effect upon the stability of the flame. How can you regulate the pressure of gasses in a flame photometer? At BWB-Tech, we use an alternating valve in our gas intake valve. This detects the pressure emitted from the gas canister and regulates the intake through changing the orifice size of the valve. If the pressure is too low, the flame would be able to backburn through the system. Too high, and the flame would become too large for the chimney section to handle, leading to safety concerns. We also add a manually-adjustable dimmer valve to the right-hand side of the instrument so that you can manually adjust the flame size. How is the air intake operated in a BWB-Tech flame photometer? More importantly than the easily-regulated pressures from a canister of gas, is how the air intake is operated. A pump is used to pressurise the air. This creates negative pressure within the system so that ambient air can be drawn into the intake valve. However, the most important part of this is having very small yet high frequency pumps of air. This is because if a large stroke volume in combination with a low frequency were to be used, the flame would fluctuate with the downstroke and upstroke of the pump as it works mechanically. These large fluctuations in pressure would, therefore, cause the flame to physically shift in size as air is pushed through it. A constant and controllable pressure of fuel and air is one of the most important factors in flame stability. It’s also crucial for accurate readings in practically all instrumentation that utilises a flame for detection.

We touched upon the subject of thermodynamics and entropy in a previous blog post, this week will continue the topic of thermodynamics and entropy's closely related cousin of enthalpy. Whilst entropy is more concerned with the physical aspects of a reaction or substance, enthalpy is more concentrated upon the effects of temperatures. Defined as a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the total heat content of a system. It is equal to the internal energy of the system plus the product of pressure and volume. The easiest way to discuss an introduction of enthalpy is to look at gasses, due to the ease at which pressure and volumes can be visualised. These two other physical properties have a direct correspondence to temperature through the ideal gas law, where thermal energy is correlated to increases in pressure and volume, or a reduction in density because as we know, as a gas increases in temperature, its density decreases. In a sealed system, as temperature increases the latent pressure on the sealed barrier increases due to lowered density, so it is known that pressure is a form of energy directly related to the temperature of the system, and pressure also directly relates to the volume of a system, as a hotter system would require a larger space to account for the lower density to maintain the same pressure of a gas of a lower temperature, which brings us to combine all three aspects of heat volume and pressure into a single value known as enthalpy. Mathematically it is defined as the internal energy of a system, plus the total of pressure multiplied by the volume of a system. This also is expressed in solids. As temperatures in a metal or other solid increase, the energy causes more vibrations. These vibrations are physical movements which would increase the bond length between two molecules, and thus as a block of metal increases in temperature, the size of the metal block would increase slightly. When a system contains multiple species, the enthalpy of the system refers to the sum total of all enthalpies of the individual constituents, and the individual constituents' enthalpies of a multi species system is affected the presence of other species in the system.

The flame photometer is a relatively low-cost, rapid and accurate analytical device used to determine the presence and concentration of certain elements, especially some metals from Group I (lithium, sodium, potassium) and Group II (calcium, barium). It works by capturing the wavelengths and intensity of light emitted by excited atoms after a sample is sprayed into a flame and then comparing this pattern to known spectra. If you want to know more about flame photometers then this is the right place to start. We take you through the key principles behind flame photometry, the features you can expect to find and how to analyse results. The flame photometry process is underpinned by fundamental physical principles around excitation and relaxation of electrons in the outer orbital shells of atoms. Carrying out a chemical analysis with flame photometry involves several stages. 0. Calibration: Before use, a flame photometer should be calibrated in line with any manufacturer instructions for the device. Calibration may be performed by measuring light emissions from a standardised reference solution. 1. Preparation: While the photometer’s operation is electrically powered, its flame is fuelled by propane, butane or natural gas. Each device will have its own minimum warm-up time. The sample for investigation must also be dissolved in an aqueous solution ready for use. 2. Aspiration and atomisation: A quantity of the solution is drawn in by the nebuliser / aspirator component of the photometer. It goes through a mixing chamber and into a flame where it is dehydrated and reduced to constituent atoms. 3.Excitation: Ionised atoms absorb heat energy from the flame, shifting electrons into higher energy orbitals and leaving the ions in an excited state. 4. Emission of light: As the excited atoms fall back into their energetic ground state, they release the energy they previously absorbed in the form of different colours (corresponding to wavelengths) of light. This light emission is detected and captured by photoelectric circuitry in the device. 5. Result reporting: Light emitted by the sample is compared to known spectra associated with individual elements. The wavelengths of light show which elements are present and the intensity of light released should indicate the concentrations. With modern flame photometers results data may be directly downloaded to computer via USB or other means. A device may also have its own integrated printer for quick paper readouts and graphs if needed. How are flame photometry results analysed? Individual elements produce their own characteristic emission spectrum when their atoms go through energetic excitation and return to ground state. This means that elements in a sample can be identified by the colour of the flame they produce. Copper produces a blue flame, while barium glows green, and both lithium and strontium produce a red flame. Calcium’s flame is orange, sodium’s yellow and so on. Exact colour / wavelength will be detected by the photometer and matched to known emission spectra. The intensity of light produced at each characteristic wavelength is directly proportional to the number of atoms emitting energy and therefore to the concentration of that element in the sample under analysis. What are flame photometers used for? Flame photometers are used in biology and medicine, as well as environmental and agricultural sciences, and general inorganic chemistry. In clinical laboratories these devices are a useful means of establishing levels of sodium, potassium, lithium and calcium ions in blood, urine or other body fluid samples. Other applications might include analysis of fertilisers and soil substrates, or production of synthetic fuels. Which elements can flame photometers detect? Not all chemical elements can be detected by flame photometry. For flame photometry to be a useful tool, the element must: - ionise in an aqueous solution (carbon, oxygen, silicon etc.. are therefore unsuited), - have sufficiently low activation energy for ions to become excited by exposure to a flame (noble gases etc.. have high activation energies and are therefore unsuited), - produce an emission spectrum which is narrow and well-defined (some transition and heavier metals have electron structures which produce broad and less defined emission spectra and are therefore unsuited). A final word… Flame photometry is an excellent tool for detection and analysis of elements including lithium, sodium, potassium, calcium and barium. As well as being cost effective and easy to operate, flame photometry requires little training and can be used for high-volume rapid analyses.

What may be a simple question can have chemists discussing its definition in detail for days, and the reactions driving force can add even more complexity to it. But why do they occur? In basic terms, a chemical reaction is an event where one or more molecules break and reform chemical bonds to end up in a different form than they started in. However, to delve deeper into this idea we must know what causes chemical reactions to happen. A chemical reaction favours one thing above all others, stability. Stability is expressed in chemistry through a value of the overall “randomness” of the product. The higher the value of different configurations that energy can be spread out in the product, the more stable a product is. This sounds all well and good in terms of theory, but may be a difficult concept to visualize in reality. Let us look at a very standard chemical reaction in the melting of ice. Whilst ice may seem physically more stable than water, the latter is true. Its rigid structure of strong hydrogen bonds does not allow for much in the way of special distributions of energy in the structure. In comparison, the liquid nature of water allows kinetic energy and flow. This ability for liquid to have and hold kinetic energy (eg: mixing the water) allows many more distributions of the layout of individual water molecules; thus giving more overall randomness to the solution than the solid-state of ice. For this reason, ice will always tend to melt unless otherwise acted on by an outside source of energy to reassemble the liquid molecules back into a solid form. This concept is known to chemists by a different name. That being entropy, which pairs nicely with the ending to this blog. Entropy usually cannot go without its thermodynamic cousin, enthalpy which we will discuss later in our series of blogs.

We’ve all heard of a laser, but what about a maser? What is the difference between the two? Laser is an abbreviation of Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The maser - which stands for Mass Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation - was discovered by the same team of scientists who produced the laser. What does a laser do? A laser is a device that stimulates molecules or atoms to emit light at particular wavelengths. It will then amplify that light and typically produce a very narrow beam of radiation. Lasers are used in several items we use every day. They include everything from optical disc drives and barcode scanners, to printers and entertainment systems. What does a maser do? A maser is a device that produces and amplifies electromagnetic radiation waves, mainly in the microwave region of the spectrum. The very first maser was built at Columbia University in 1953 by Charles Townes, James Gordon, and Herbert Zeiger. Masers produce much higher frequency than lasers and, thus, lower wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. When the laser was invented, it was actually known as an optical maser. This was then changed later on to what we now know as lasers. What is an example of a maser? Let’s look at the hydrogen maser. Initially, a beam of atomic free radical hydrogen atoms is produced via high-frequency radio waves being introduced to the hydrogen at low pressure. Next, the state is selected; as with lasers, a maser requires a population inversion of the atoms. This is done via applying a magnetic field around the beam. It results in the atoms which remain inside and not being pulled from the beam by electromagnetic forces to have incredibly high relative energy states in comparison to ground-state hydrogen atoms, and thus an inversion of energy states from more ground state hydrogens to more excited state hydrogen atoms. A microwave cavity then confines the microwaves emitted from the hydrogen atoms' emission. This further stimulates the high-energy population in a positive feedback loop, where more microwaves mean more excitation, and more excitation results in more microwaves. A small fraction of the signal from the microwave cavity is allowed to be released into a coaxial cable (at a 90-degree angle to the beam) to a radio receiver. What sort of use could we get out of this hydrogen maser? This maser setup is used to produce atomic clocks. These are independent timepieces that are capable of measuring time without the influence of gravity. Gravity and the relationship between space and time results in time measuring differently, depending on your distance from a gravitational source. This is of vital importance to code that operates on a time-based system Imagine putting a million-dollar space exploration vehicle out into the stars, only to realize the code which asked for the collection of data every second in relative terms to earth instead sends back information every 1.5 seconds and fluctuates uncontrollably or something of the sort.

When it comes to setting up an experiment, proper planning is crucial. But what is the key role that it plays? All too often, people will run to their flame photometer, prepare their standards and whack through the sample. This can provide an adequate result for the analysis. But without recording in detail the steps being taken, the results of the experimental process are null and void. One of the most vital points of the scientific process is that every single experimental process should be reproducible by anybody with the correct setup. How can a flame photometer affect reproducibility? In flame photometry, the stability of your flame can be affected by a huge range of different factors. These include atmospheric conditions, including humidity, oxide concentrations, pressure changes, and oxygen content of the air. The samples and standards themselves can affect reproducibility - something that seems quite simple. However, it can be caused by a huge variation of different factors in play coming together. This would be the viscosity of the solution, or the ease at which the sample flows. What other factors can affect reproducibility? Always hold yourself to absolute transparency of the process that you, as a scientist, took to get the end result. From the glassware that you used, to the type of water you used to dilute your samples and standards with. Every single detail of the practical process that was carried out must be recorded and submitted alongside the result of the experiment. By doing this, you become a part of the fuel of scientific discovery. What are the advantages of reproducibility in the scientific method? Your single result may not be the ground-breaking solution to end world hunger. But by having your experimental process recorded in full and available to public access, you could have your work accumulated into a statistical study. Maybe another scientist was looking to do the exact same thing, but came out with a totally different result. It could lead them to question, “Why would this happen for them, but differently for me?” This is where the true essence of discovery is seeded and without it, our technological process would have been stunted back in the 1800s. People would jump to say you wouldn’t have a phone without science, but it is even more baseline than this. Without the technological developments aided to us by the scientific method, we would not have any resemblance of humanity as we know it. From shipping to politics, housing and much, much more. So, let us take a small moment to be thankful for our forefathers' discoveries and the framework they laid down for future generations of scientists.

Basic Mass and Moles chemistry equations in flame photometry The equation between Mass and Moles is probably one of the most important relationships that chemists use in everyday work. When using a flame photometer, you’ll eventually reach a stage where you cannot avoid using mathematics. The unit of Moles was created by early chemists to give a relative weight of an atom in relation to their atomic particle makeup. What is a Mole in chemistry? A mole is defined as the base unit of amount of substance in the International System of Units. This is also known as Avogadro's number, or the Avogadro Constant. It is defined as exactly 6.02214076×10²³ elementary entities (6.02 × 10 23 per mole), which is 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 per mole. The units may be atoms, molecules, ions, or electrons, depending on the nature of the substance and the character of the reaction (if any). What is Mass in chemistry? Mass is fundamentally a measure of the amount of matter contained within an object. In effect, it is the resistance that a body of matter offers to a change in its position or speed upon the application of a force. How do you calculate the equation between Mass and Moles? The equation for this relationship can be given in two different forms: Mr x Mol = Mass and Ar x Mol = Mass where... Ar / Mr = Atomic / Molecular relative atomic mass (usually given in grams per Moles) Mol = units of Moles Mass = Units of Mass (Grams) What this equation does is multiply out the Mole portion of the Molecular or Atomic ratio (g/mol), leaving you with a remaining unit of grams of substance. Thinking of it in another way, a Mole is a theoretical quantity of atoms or molecules. A gram, meanwhile, is a commonly measured property that has physical grounding. It is much easier to weigh something than count the number of molecules or atoms in it. From our knowledge of reactions in chemistry, a mass isn’t the thing that is reacting with one another. It is the actual molecules and atoms hitting each other. Therefore, this equation is acting almost as a bridge between “theoretical reactions” that we can picture in our head and the masses observed in front of us. Why do we use Ar and Mr? The only real reason we use Ar and Mr is that Ar is a given value to a single atom. Meanwhile, Mr is the total combined Ar’s of the molecule. What this is a value of in actuality is if you were to have a pile which contained 6.02214076×10^23 (Avogadro's Constant) atoms or molecules, it would weigh what is stated as its Ar/Mr. For example, a mole of Carbon 13 atoms would weigh 13 grams, and so on. However, we will soon release a specific topic on the Mole itself to give further information on this topic.

Lasers have certainly come a long way since the basic chromium-doped ruby examples were invented in 1960. 60 years, this small beam of red light is considered one of the most important discoveries of modern times. But how has it changed from its first invention to now. Lasers emit a constant beam of light of a specific wavelength. While this wavelength can be slightly engineered, the material used is the main factor in the output wavelength of light. What do we use lasers for today? Modern-day lasers are around us constantly. They are beneath our feet in fibre optic cables, and in barcode scanners in shops. You’ll also find them in laser printers, space communications, weapons guidance systems and countless other applications. Without the development of the laser, we would not be able to be where we are today as a society. Lasers are widely used today for material processing in manufacturing, such as for drilling, cutting and welding. Other uses include fibre-optics, DNA sequencing instruments, laser surgery and skin treatments. What are the applications of modern-day lasers? The common type of laser has major differences from the older solid-state lasers, such as the ruby one mentioned above. Since their conception in 1960, gas lasers have greatly evolved. The initial discovery was of a Helium Neon laser. When we think of lasers and their function, our minds often go down the sci-fi route. Instead, let’s start with some of the most powerful laser equipment possible today. A carbon dioxide cutting laser is capable of emitting light at 10.6 micrometers. These are extremely high energies which are capable of cutting and welding steel. Meanwhile, chemical lasers - such as the hydrogen fluoride laser - emit light at wavelengths of 2,700 to 2,900 nanometers. The reaction which occurs in the laser chamber is between hydrogen and the combustion products of ethylene in nitrogen trifluoride. This produces a high-energy beam of light. However, these different laser techniques do not make solid-state lasers obsolete. What can be added to crystal structures to produce laser light? Neodymium is a common addition to crystal structures to produce laser light. For instance, the yttrium aluminium garnet crystal laser is doped with neodymium. This laser light is installed at the Starfire Optical Range for use as a space telescope. The Range is a United States Air Force research laboratory on the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The telescope sends a beam of light off to detect emissions of light from distant stars. This allows researchers to track stars’ content, in hope of giving us signs of life or habitability from a star's elemental makeup. Even now, scientists do not think we are at the limit of what we can do with laser light. What the future of laser light holds could change the world as we know it.

Compound formation is a type of interference that occurs due to the elevated temperatures present in the flame. The threshold for some reaction's activation energies can be reached, due to the influx of energy from combustion. It can then suppress the emissions of the analytes of interest during determinations of ionic concentrations. Is it difficult to pick up compound formation interference in flame photometry? Picking up on this type of interference can be difficult and sometimes can go unnoticed. It can be overlooked in the planning of the experimental process. This is due to an interferant being present only when the sample is introduced to the flame of the photometer. An interferant is a compound in a sample that produces readings which overlap those of the analyte, making analysis more difficult. What is an example of compound formation interference? The calcium content of boiler water is important to evaluate if the water softening plant of the boiler Is working efficiently. Ideally, the calcium content of boiler water should be zero. The softening plant replaces calcium content with sodium to avoid the formation of limescale or calcium carbonate and instead forms sodium carbonate, which is water soluble. Calcium carbonate, however, forms a layer of scale on the piping of the boiler. This reduces the ability of heat transfer in the pipework, leading to extremely dangerous working conditions. How can I determine possible interferences that can occur in flame photometry? If we were to directly measure the calcium content of this boiler water, we would not initially think that the signal is being depressed in the sample. However, a common addition in boiler water is Sodium metabisulphite. Here, metabisulphite is added as an oxygen scavenger. When metabisulphite or sulphites are heated in the flame, they would rapidly oxidise to form sulphates. These are a well-known interference to calcium due to their affinity to bind strongly to one another. Their binding together significantly reduces the photon emissions from calcium that flame photometry detects. To hinder this interference, a high concentration of Lanthanum or Strontium (1,000 ppm or more) would be added to the sample and standards to negate this formation of sulphates in the flame. This determination is a very good example of why, when planning your photometry experiment, the full chemical make-up of the sample is needed to determine possible interferences that can occur in flame photometry.