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Anyone know what kind of analyzer they're using in those pictures in the listing? I'd love to have one of those!
This thing?
That would be a portable XRF analyser, also called an "XRF gun". They're kind of the closest that our 21st century technology can get to a "Star Trek tricorder", in terms of a device that you can point at "something" and the device then tells you what the "something" is made of. You can buy a generic "analyse for the entire periodic table" device, or you can get a precious-metals-specific machine. They'll cost you somewhere around $30,000 or so; the more elements you want to analyse, the more expensive the instrument. Here's an example, though there are many brands making these now:
https://www.bruker.com/en/products-...s/titan.htmlThese days, pretty much every major jeweller and scrap metal merchant either owns one of these or has access to one they can borrow.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
Posted 05/19/2026 09:58 am
