AAS is a laboratory instrument that measures the concentration of micro elements in soil, fertilizer and plant sample solutions. It is so sensitive that it can measure down the concentration of elements to parts per billion in any sample.

Working principle: Every element has a specific number of electrons associated with its nucleus. The normal and most stable orbital configuration of an atom is known as the “ground state.” If energy is applied to an atom, the energy will be absorbed and an outer electron will be promoted to a less stable configuration known as the “excited state.” Since this state is unstable, the atom will immediately return to the “ground state,” releasing light energy. The “ground state” atom of elements absorbs light energy of a specific wavelength as it enters the “excited state.” As the number of atoms in the light path increases, the amount of light absorbed also increases. By measuring the amount of light absorbed, a quantitative determination of the amount of analyte can be made. The use of special light sources and careful selection of wavelengths allow the specific determination of individual elements.

There are five basic components of an atomic absorption instrument:

• The light source that emits the spectrum of the element of interest
• A monochromator for light dispersion
• A detector, which measures the light intensity
• Aamplifier to amplify the signal
• A display that shows the reading after it has been processed by the instrument

Working Principle:

Analysis of soils and water for micronutrient and heavy metal content

Plant : Minimum 15 g powdered sample / 50 g dried sample Soil : Minimum 100 g sample sieved (< 2.0 mm sieve) Water : Minimum 250 ml freshly collected/sample preserved in< 2.0 pH using HNO3 in plastic (preferably polytetrafluoroethylene) container rinsed with 1:1 HNO3.