# Analyzing mysterious substances

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/analyzing-mysterious-substances/356990>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 16, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/analyzing-mysterious-substances/356990 "2006-05-16T15:41:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/analyzing-mysterious-substances/356990/1 "2006-05-16T15:41:48Z")

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I was watching CSI last night and their lab guys are just fantastic. “Hey, Dude, what’s this blue powder”. Quicker than a commercial break, they say it’s silica, talc, (& something else I can’t remember) and in that combination, it’s pool chalk.

(Me, I looked at the blue powdery stuff, and said to my wife that it was pool chalk. I’m sending my resume to the FBI today.)

Suppose that [an unknown glowing substance falls to Earth, presumably from outer space](http://www.happyfunball.com/hfb.html) is found and shipped to a well-stocked lab. We’ll call it HFB for now.

How is something completely mysterious, like HFB, analyzed?

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**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/analyzing-mysterious-substances/356990/2 "2006-05-16T16:46:49Z")

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There are lots of methods, including microanalysis and Xps that will give the elemental composition (e.g. % carbon iron etc).  
The solubility will be checked - any soluble material is fairly easy to analyse by a number of methods (UV, NMR)  
Mass spectra will look for any small molecules and often tell you what their formula is  
X-ray crystallography will determine the structure of any crystalline parts  
IR spectroscopy is useful on the insoluble portions.  
sorry for all the acronyms

by putting all the pieces together a good idea of the identity of the unknown substance can be put together. Unless it is completely exotic which is unlikely then given enough sample (say .1-10 gr) the structure should be determined in a week or two. Even quicker if resembles something known.

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**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/analyzing-mysterious-substances/356990/3 "2006-05-16T16:50:38Z")

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> [@Belrix](#):
>
> How is something completely mysterious, like HFB, analyzed?

You can run a few standard tests like Ph, solubility and reactivity with common agents, and then you’re pretty much stuck with [Atomic Spectroscopy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_spectroscopy)

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**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/analyzing-mysterious-substances/356990/4 "2006-05-16T16:52:22Z")

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Or what he said…

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**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/analyzing-mysterious-substances/356990/5 "2006-05-16T17:49:48Z")

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Ah. Qualitative Analysis. I love it.