Neutron activation
Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is a powerful analytical technique used to probe the elemental makeup of a wide variety of materials. NAA enjoys very high sensitivity and accuracy and is generally practiced nondestructively. Samples are bombarded with neutrons and the emissions from the radioisotopes produced are analyzed to determine both their number and identity. Several university, government, and industrial laboratories, both domestic and abroad, employ NAA to study forensic evidence, lunar and meteoritic materials, advanced materials, and high purity materials. NAA is free from classical "matrix" effects and is capable of very precise measurements having detection limits commonly in the fractions of PPM.