Neutron activation analysis

Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is an extremely sensitive technique of radiochemical analysis used to determine the existence and quantities of major, minor and trace elements in a material sample. As opposed to other methods in analytical chemistry, such as mass spectrometry or chromatography, it focuses entirely on the nuclei of atoms, not their molecular structure.

One major NAA research facility is the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.