describe why emission spectroscopy is a helpful tool in determining the identity of materials in fields like forensic science

Emission spectroscopy is a helpful tool in determining the identity of materials in fields like forensic science because it has the ability to identify and characterize the elements in a sample obtained for forensic analysis. It accomplishes this by making the sample go through a medium that can disperse the atoms and ions in the element at specified wavelengths.

Explanation:

Atomic emission spectroscopy is a method used in the laboratory to characterize the elements found in a sample needed for a study when they pass through a flame. Inductively coupled plasma is a type of atomic emission spectroscopy which has the ability to excite the components of an element at specific wavelengths when they undergo electromagnetic radiation.

This method can identify the isotopes, atom, and ions present in a sample. This is useful in forensics as it aids the identification of the elements in the sample.

radioactive decay occurs in unstable atomic nuclei – that is, ones that don't have enough binding energy to hold

the nucleus together due to an excess of either protons or neutrons.

it can be observed without changing the identity of the object.

it depends on what substance you're talking about as well as many other factors. in quantum mechanics, the observation of particles affects the observers ability to measure certain properties. for example: you can know the velocity of a particle, but you can't know it's position; or you can know it's position, but not it's velocity. it's like trying to find out where a grain of sand is by throwing other grains of sand at it. once you find out where it is, it's been moved. it's also like trying to find an answer to the question of whether or not a tree falling in a forest makes a sound if nobody is there to hear it. paradoxically, the only way to find out is to be there and hear it.