3.2. Temperature and electron density
A Boltzmann plot for the Ti lines observed on nails is shown in
Fig. 2. The corresponding plasma temperature is 4830 (7210) K.
Similar plots for the filter paper and the keratin pellet gave
temperatures of 4710 (7190) K and 4500 (7200) K respectively.
While the accuracy of these absolute temperatures is most likely
limited by the accuracy of the transition probabilities, the relative
standard deviation is about 5%. A two-tailed t test gives p¼0.48 for
comparison of nails to filter paper, and p¼0.05 for comparison of
nails to keratin pellet. We can conclude that the filter paper gives
temperatures that are more similar to those of the nails than the
keratin pellet