Abstract: An intense electric field is employed as the external source of energy in carrying to a spectroscopic analysis of a chemical composition. The substance to be analyzed is placed between an insulated conductive electrode and a ground reference. A high voltage is then applied to the electrode to generate an electric field of a predetermined intensity within the test sample. As a result of the energy absorbed, the constituents of the sample are caused to release their characteristic spectral emissions. These emissions are optically filtered to isolate the wavelength of interest which is passed to a light detector and registered on a photon counting system. The procedure is especially and uniquely applicable for conducting an in situ chemical analysis of human sweat, thus offering a valuable aid in the diagnosis of various medical abnormalities.