Spectroscopy-07-01-2011

SFW Capital Partners, of Rye, New York, a private equity firm that invests in mid-sized companies providing analytical tools and related services, has purchased Spectro, Inc., of Littleton, Massachusetts, a provider of spectrometers and software for machine condition monitoring and preventative maintenance.

This November, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will be launched on a mission to Mars that will deploy a new rover, called "Curiosity." Curiosity will include several analytical instruments, including "CheMin," which uses X-ray diffraction (XRD) and also has limited X-ray fluorescence (XRF) capabilities.

Koen Janssens, professor of chemistry at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), uses synchrotron radiation-based X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to analyze historic works of art. In a recent study, he used various spectroscopic techniques, including several X-ray methods, to reveal the process by which the yellow paint in some of Vincent Van Gogh?s paintings darkened over time.

Visitors from 80 countries gathered in Munich, Germany, on May 23-26 to attend the Laser World of Photonics conference. Because optical technologies are considered emerging technologies, the event focused on "Lasers and Laser Systems for Production Engineering," "Green Photonics," and "Biophotonics and Life Sciences."

Chemistry's periodic table has two new man-made elements. Atomic numbers 114 and 116, for now unnamed elements, have been recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), which credited a Russia-United States collaboration with their discovery.

A few key steps will protect your samples and help ensure accurate results.

Product Resources

Here are nine suggestions for improving this valuable technique.

Here's a preview what you'll hear at the Denver X-ray Conference.

From the field to the synchrotron, XRF is expanding its power and scope.

A number of analytical methods make use of the X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Of these, the technique in widest use is energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF).

Simulated leaf spectral data were generated to analyze scattering impact and then compared to experimental data to validate the conclusions of the simulation.

Mass spectrometry is now among the tools used by first responders to identify potential threats, but there are challenges involved, including interpreting results and ensuring data relevance.

Developments in lasers, detectors, low-cost instruments, and fiber-optic probes have greatly expanded the lubrication systems being studied by Raman spectroscopy.

Click the title above to open the Spectroscopy July 2011 regular issue, Vol 26 No 7, in an interactive PDF format.