4 ms·
I'm amazed by how we can now detect an element with only several hundreds of atoms in a large chunk of rock.
by harshalizee 5y ago
I'm amazed by how we can now detect an element with only several hundreds of atoms in a large chunk of rock.
- bradrn 5y agoI had a chemistry practical class just a couple of hours ago in which I asked about the sensitivity of mass spectrometry. I was amazed when I was told that it is sensitive enough to detect individual atoms. Modern analytical techniques really are amazing! (A book recommendation along these lines: Echoes of Life: What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History, by Susan M. Gaines, Geoffrey Eglinton and Jurgen Rullkotter. If you already know a bit of chemistry, it’s a wonderful introduction to the techniques used to analyse rocks in organic geochemistry.)
- ISL 5y agoSome classes of (mostly older) neutrino-detection experiments detect single radionuclides in many tons of material. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestake_experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestake_experiment is perhaps the most-famous, but GALLEX and SAGE use a similar approach. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAGE_(Soviet%E2%80%93American_Gallium_Experiment) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAGE_(Soviet%E2%80%93American_...
- jacquesm 5y agoFunny, I had a similar re-adjustment of my idea of what mass spectrometry is capable off a few weeks ago and I remember being totally amazed. That has come a very long way in the last decades. The tech behind it is fascinating too.