A new technique that uses a laser to vaporize materials like rocks and steel to analyze their chemical composition is finding new applications from Mars to forensics.
…A new technique that uses a laser to vaporize materials like rocks and steel to analyze their chemical composition is finding new applications from Mars to forensics.Thanks to its relatively small size and low cost, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is emerging from the laboratory and turning into a precise tool for figuring out what something is made of. What had been a technique largely for scientists now can be transformed into a tough, small system that can be operated by a technician instead of a PhD.
The same things that make it amenable to go to Mars also make it amenable to go out in the field, said Jose Almirall, a chemist at Florida International University who has a grant from the Department of Justice to explore how crime labs can use the technology.
NASA will be deploying a LIBS system called the ChemCam on its new Mars rover, now named Curiosity and scheduled to launch next year.
LIBS works by blasting a material with a high-energy laser pulses. The Mars Curiosity rover will send an…
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