Abstract
This thesis sets out to examine the application of purely instrumental methods of activation analysis to a variety of problems mainly in the life sciences. A critical review of the methods of activation analysis is presented with a detailed discussion of the impact of high resolution gamma ray spectroscopy with Ge(Li) detectors. The problems associated with precise gamma ray energy determination are outlined and various methods of peak area measurement are discussed. The second half of the thesis describes experiments on charged particle and thermal neutron activation analysis using Ge(Li) detectors for gamma ray spectroscopy. Charged particle activation analysis has been applied for the determination of oxygen and nitrogen in gases and aluminium in germanium. Thermal neutron activation analysis has been investigated for the determination of cobalt, molybdenum and selenium in soil and herbage, and silver in film badge dosimetry. The problems associated with achieving the idealised detection limit for any element using a purely instrumental method are outlined. Finally, some aids to activation analysis in the form of graphical presentations of various useful data are given.