1. Fundamental laws of atomic absorption spectrometry

1.1 Basic principles

An atom, initially in its ground state, can enter an excited state provided it is supplied with a quantum of energy equal to the energy difference between the excited and ground states (see figures 1 and 2 ). The energy supplied may be thermal, kinetic (leading to collisions between particles) or luminous. In the case of non-luminous energy, the atom may find itself in one or other of the excited states E ₁ , E ₂ , E _3...