posted on 2024-11-18, 15:12authored byInaugural addresses
Inaugural lecture--Department of Chemistry, Rand Afrikaans University, 3 November 1969@@The past 10-15 years has seen a tremendous upsurge in the use of instruments for performing chemical analyses, and already the point has been reached where it is possible to train an unskilled operator in a relatively short time merely to push the correct buttons on a "black box" and thereby produce analytical results rapidly.
A simplified model of the atom is described, and it is shown how various instrumental analytical methods may be developed merely by making use of some specific physical property of the atom only. The principles of four such instrumental techniques, all of which are currently already in general use, are outlined briefly; these are atomic emission spectroscopy, atomic absorption
spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and activation
analysis. Some of the more important problems encountered in these methods are mentioned, and an indication is given of the areas to which research is still being directed in order to improve these techniques and make them of more general application. Reference is also made briefly to two newer analytical methods which also utilize properties of the atom only and which are currently still in process of development. Some thoughts are expressed regarding the reasons for the great expansion in the application of instrumental techniques to Chemistry in general, and the economic implications thereof are discussed, with particular reference to the financial plight of universities in this respect.