ABSTRACT
In all my years of working in the field of plasma spectrochemistry, I had never come across any written material that included a basic dictionary of terms, primarily aimed at someone new to the technique. When I first became involved in the ICP-MS technique, most of the literature I read tended to give complicated descriptions of instrument components and explanations of fundamental principles that more often than not sailed over my head. It was not until I became more familiar with the technique that I began to get a better understanding of the complex jargon used in technical journals and presentations at scientific conferences. So, when I wrote my second ICP-MS textbook, I knew that a glossary of terms was an absolute necessity and it has been in every subsequent book I’ve written since. In this book, the glossary has been expanded to also include all the atomic spectroscopy techniques described including ICP-OES, AA, AF, XRF, XRD, LIBS, LALI-TOFMS, and MIP-AES terms. Even though the glossary is not exhaustive, it contains explanations and definitions of the most common AS words, expressions, and terms used in this book. It should mainly be used as a quick reference guide. If you want more detailed information about the subject matter, you should use the index to find a more detailed explanation of the topic in the appropriate book chapter. Many of the same terms are used in different chapters, so to save duplication and where appropriate, those definitions have only been used once. (Note: the glossary does not include commercial names used by any of the instrument, accessories, or consumable vendors.)
