Quick Orientation
Section
Definition
- Objective
- Understand the core idea
- Keywords
- Flame photometry, sodium, potassium and lithium
Principle
- Objective
- Learn the main facts and relationships
- Keywords
- Step 1, Step 2, Step 3
Clinical Correlation
- Objective
- Connect the mechanism to clinical findings
- Keywords
- sodium, potassium and lithium
Definition
Flame photometry is the technique for quantitative measurement of the electrolytes sodium, potassium and lithium, using an instrument called the flame photometer.
Principle
- A solution is sprayed over a burner as an aerosol and dissociates to give neutral atoms.
- Some of these atoms are excited and move to a higher energy state.
- Excited atoms fall back to the ground state, emitting light of a characteristic wavelength.
- The emitted light is measured; its intensity is proportional to the concentration of the electrolyte being estimated.