The Significance of Thermally-Assisted Processes in Atomic Absorption

The use of non-resonance lines in atomic absorption spectroscopy has been included in the theoretical treatment of the selection of lines for A.A.S.^1,2, and such lines are not infrequently used on an empirical basis in practical analyses. This aspect of the technique is invariably ignored in reviews and text-books on atomic absorption, however, and has only been given serious consideration in isolated cases^3,4. The object of this publication is to illustrate the significance of thermally-assisted absorption, and the difference between the use of thermally-assisted and resonance absorption lines.