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Analytical chemistry

Plasma bubbles detect elements

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Bunsen didn't just invent the burner — he also worked on spectral analysis, in which compounds are heated in flames to produce distinctive light emissions. The latest device replaces flames with microplasmas.

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Figure 1: Small balls of fire.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. José A. C. Broekaert is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany. jose.broekaert@chemie.uni-hamburg.de,

    José A. C. Broekaert

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  1. José A. C. Broekaert
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Broekaert, J. Plasma bubbles detect elements. Nature 455, 1185–1186 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/4551185a

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