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Looking into the Elemental Analyzer.

Looking into the Elemental Analyzer.
Looking into the Elemental Analyzer.
Looking into the Elemental Analyzer.
Looking into the Elemental Analyzer.
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412990
Kleindinst, Thomas N.
Looking into the Elemental Analyzer.
Still Image
02/24/2015
graphics/WHOI_Carl_Johnson_jpg/_DSC7390.jpg
10 milligrams of sediment wrapped in tin is dropped into a 1,020 degrees (C) Elemental Analyzer. A pulse of oxygen causes the tin to ignite, quantitatively combusting the sediment in a 1,700 degrees (C) local environment. Combustion of a sediment sample in an Elemental Analyzer.
Image Of the Day caption:
A small sample of sediment contained in a tin "boat" burns in a flash of light and 1700°C (3092°F) heat at the WHOI Organic Mass Spectrometry Facility. Gases released during combustion reveal how much carbon, nitrogen, and other elements the sample contained, as well as how much of individual isotopes of each element were present. The distribution of elements and isotopes helps scientists determine the source of any organic matter present—whether from bacteria or plants, grasses or trees—in samples that can be millions of years old.
Photo by Tom Kleindinst
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
http://www.whoi.edu/website/organic-mass-spectrometry-facility/overview
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