SOIL AND PLANT ANALYSIS (1+1)

Flame Photometry

FLAME PHOTOMETERY

• Flame photometry (more accurately called flame atomic emission spectrometry) is a branch of atomic spectroscopy in which the species examined in the spectrometer are in the form of atoms.


• The other two branches of atomic spectroscopy are atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES, a relatively new and very expensive technique not used in Standardbase experiments).


• In all cases the atoms under investigation are excited by light. Absorption techniques measure the absorbance of light due to the electrons going to a higher energy level.


• Emission techniques measure the intensity of light that is emitted as electrons return to the lower energy levels.


• Flame photometry is suitable for qualitative and quantitative determination of several cations, especially for metals that are easily excited to higher energy levels at a relatively low flame temperature (mainly Na, K, Rb, Cs, Ca, Ba, Cu).