Patent ID: 7286635

Claim:
A material analyzer for identifying quantities of one or more elements in a material, comprising: a. a container for holding a sample material to be analyzed; b. a resonant gamma ray source unit for directing resonant gamma rays into the sample material in the container; c. at least one detector for detecting gamma rays resonantly scattered by at least one predetermined element in the sample material; and d. the resonant gamma ray source unit comprising: i. an outer housing having an inner chamber and an aperture directed towards the container; ii. the housing comprising gamma ray shield material and radiological shield material; iii. a moving gamma ray generator source of at least one target material mounted in the chamber, the target material being selected from a predetermined group of materials which emit resonant gamma rays when exposed to particles or photons, the source being directed towards said aperture; and iv. a source of particles or photons positioned in the chamber adjacent the gamma ray generator source.