[Moderator's note: Quoted text snipped. -P.H.]

I was having fun trying to come up with a spectrum analyzer that would
make a distinction between copper iron and gold. Clearly the motive was
financial gains rather than than science. In doing this research it
became apparent that the high Q spectrum lines of a gas were very
different from solids. The meaning of Q is the degree of well defined
spikes in the spectrum VS low Q soft spectrum that changes at a
disappointing slow rate. For example the difference between copper and
gold from red to blue is just a fluffy soft cure without any sharp
identifying spikes to say you hit pay dirt. A gas on the other hand such
as O H or N has high Q spikes in the infrared part of the spectrum
making identification easy. In short a gas liquid and solid are very
different when it comes to their absorption and reflective spectrum.