3 ms·
If you wanted to identify the components of a liquid, could you heat it and analyze the steam?
by aantix 2y ago
If you wanted to identify the components of a liquid, could you heat it and analyze the steam?
- Keyframe 2y agoif it can survive phase transition untouched. otherwise, if there'd be a chemical change, you'd be looking at something new.
- zdragnar 2y agoI apparently have watched too much explosions & fire / extractions & ire, because my immediate thought on seeing the parent comment was that "yeah, it's gonna decompose before it vaporizes, and if it's hypergolic with itself that'll be fun" Apparently, watching an Aussie with a backyard shed full of mysterious chemicals and reagents has me assuming that any mysterious, unmarked liquid that needs to be identified is probably explosive.
- rtkwe 2y agoAFAIU most methods of spectroscopy work by measuring the atomic composition of the materials anyways not the exact structure and bonds so a chemical change shouldn't matter much.
- Keyframe 2y agothat'd make sense
- kurthr 2y agoUsually, they use HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography), which uses a solvent and packed diffusion columns.
- WhyNotHugo 2y agoDifferent components might vaporise at temperatures. If you heat water and alcohol to 80°, measurements would indicate ~100% alcohol. You won’t know the right temperature unless you know what substance it is. Edit: I guess you might also have stuff which reacts below their vaporising temperature.
- egberts1 2y agoEvery phase transistion (or phase change) of a molecule alters its emission lines, at least as detected by gas chromatography equipments.
- aj7 2y agoYou could taste it. But working on a good dog interface is the way to go.
- DecentShoes 2y agoMan, the next Vessyl is going to be intense...
- rubicks 2y agoYou don't have to stop at the gas phase. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductively_coupled_plasma#Applications https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductively_coupled_plasma#A...