100 Years of Progress in X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis

Abstract

In the 100 years since the landmark work of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, much progress has been made in X-ray science and applications. X-ray Fluorescence Analysis (XRF) essentially had its beginning not long after that development, when, in 1913, Moseley demonstrated the relationship between the atomic number of an element and the wavelength of its X-ray spectra. As early as the 1930's, workers were analyzing materials for trace elements. By the time of the 1940's, X-ray spectroscopic instruments were becoming commercially available, and analysts were beginning to appreciate the simplicity of the X-ray spectra, and thus the potential for a significant impact on elemental analysis.