High-Temperature Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy

I. INTRODUCTION

High-temperature spectroscopy found its real beginning in 1860 when Michael Faraday demonstrated the uniqueness of the candle as a chemical system in his six Christmas lectures. Since that time, no area of analytical chemistry has received greater or more extended attention; and it is becoming more and more evident as increased research is carried out in this field that its potential uses, not only for analytical purposes, but also for studies of the fundamental processes of atoms in the gaseous state, have only begun to be recognized. Presently, high-temperature spectrometric analytical techniques have been developed for most of the elements in the periodic table in various sample types. Methods are also under investigation which will extend this list to include many of the group VA, VIA, and VIIA elements.