Experimental measurement of absolute number of atoms vaporized in a graphite cuvette

A new method based on electrothermal atomic-absorption spectrometry is proposed for the experimental calculation of the product KN(0) where K is a constant which relates the instantaneous absorbance to the instantaneous number of atoms electrothermally atomized in a graphite cuvette, and N(0) is the number of atoms initially deposited in the graphite cuvette. The method is based on measurement of the integrated absorbance A(i) and the average residence time tau(R) of the atoms in the optical path, from an absorbance vs. time curve. The data so obtained can be used to compare the K values with those in the literature or, if K is known, to calculate N(0) under widely different experimental conditions. The ratio A(i)/tau(R) remains constant even if both A(i) and tau(R) change with different heating rates and the final constant temperature of the euvette surface, T(f).