Activation analysis: A basis for chemical similarity and classification

Abstract

It is shown that activation analysis is especially suited to serve as a basis for determining the chemical similarity between samples defined by their trace element concentration patterns. The general problem of classification and identification is discussed. The nature of possible classification structures and their approriate clustering strategies is considered. A practical computer method is suggested and its application as well as the graphical representation of classification results are given. The possibility for classification using information theory is mentioned. Classification of chemical elements is discussed and practically realized after Hadamard transformation of the concerntration variation patterns in a series of samples.