Introduction to HD Prime

Hello,

and welcome to the wonderful world of atomic physics! If you have come in search of information on x-ray analysis and the HD Prime, then look no further. My name is Laurel Boser and I will be doing research all summer for Siena College on the wonders of x-ray analysis. On this blog page you can explore experiments I will be doing and read up on the new information I have found. As well, If you ever want me to look into anything in specific, send me an email and I will look into it.

First, It might be important to go over what x-ray analysis does. I must warn you though, I am new to this and If we have any Physicists reading, please correct me if I am wrong. From what I understand x-ray analysis such as the HD Prime, works by shooting x-ray waves at a substance. This substance can be anything from organic matter to rocks. WARNING: We are playing with x-rays and it would be very unwise to put anything alive in the machine. The atoms within the substance will become excited by the energy of the waves and react in their own unique way.

Once the energy from the x-ray hits the atom, the atom will lose an electron from one of the inner shells. Because this makes the atom unstable, an electron from an outer shell will switch to fill the vacant spot. The difference in energy between the two electrons is the energy that will be emitted by the atom in the form of fluorescence. Fluorescence is the visible or invisible radiation emitted by certain substances as a result of incident radiation of shorter wavelengths such as x-rays. Using different strength x-rays helps us in identifying the composition of substances.

X-ray fluorescence is a new cutting edge technology in the field of almost all sciences. It is cheap and nondestructive to the samples. The HD Prime for example, was created to test the toxicity of substances under the CPSIA. The machine looks for the measurements of Br, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, As, Ba, Cl, Sb, and Se, which then are compared to the set standards. As the weeks go by, I plan to explore the toxicity of common substances found throughout our day. What I find might be shocking and change your impressions on industrial standards. However, I might find that the water we drink, food we eat, and cloths we wear are safe. We have a right to know what is going into or bodies and the HD Prime will shed light on the subject. Stay tuned!

Sincerely,

Laurel Boser

Email: le11bose@siena.edu

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