Abstract
MUCH research work is now being carried out for which metals of the highest degree of purity are desirable. In recent years advertisements or quotations have been received from several sources offering so-called ‘pure’, ‘spectroscopically pure’ or ‘Spectrographically pure’ metals, and spectrographic reports have been given suggesting a high degree of purity. Subsequent correspondence has revealed that the reports referred to metallic impurities only, and that non-metals, notably nitrogen, oxygen and carbon, were ignored completely, although some were present to extents far greater than those of the metallic impurities for which the details were given. To those unfamiliar with the subject, a spectrographic report alone may give a quite misleading impression of the purity of a metal, and the importance of obtaining a complete analysis should be emphasized.
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HUME-ROTHERY, W. Spectrographically Pure Metals. Nature 184, 1794 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1841794a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1841794a0
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