LIBS

Dustin McIntyre, of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, US Department of Energy in Morgantown, West Virginia, has been exploring the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to measure subsurface gases, liquids, and solids at subsurface conditions.

An overview for those considering implementation of LIBS to solve a particular analytical problem, and an introduction for those interested in learning more about LIBS. Part I concentrates on the basics of the measurement and typical implementation.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is already being used to characterize nuclear material at nuclear energy sites in the United Kingdom. So could LIBS help Japan with its current nuclear crisis? To find out, we spoke to Andy Whitehouse of Applied Photonics.

A Q&A with Jose Almirall, PhD, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the director of the International Forensic Research Institute at Florida International University.

NASA plans to utilize laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrumentation on the next Mars Rover, PEWPEW.

The United States Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has been applying standoff laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to hazardous material detection and determination. We describe several standoff systems that have been developed by ARL and provide a brief overview of standoff LIBS progress at ARL. We also present some current standoff LIBS results from explosive residues on organic substrates and biomaterials from different growth media. These new preliminary results demonstrate that standoff LIBS has the potential to discriminate hazardous materials in more complex backgrounds.

After nearly three decades and three spacecaft landings on the surface of Mars, we still do not know what the rocks are made of . . .