Abstract: A method for analyzing the latent gas content of metal samples, particularly the oxygen content of solidified samples of molten steel, which includes charging a crucible in a heat extraction furnace with a metal test specimen and sufficient metallic germanium to cause wetting of the specimen upon heating and disassociation of metallic oxides (or other metallic compounds including latent gaseous constituents) in the test specimen such that gases evolve and are quantitatively measured in conventional apparatus. When a test specimen is analyzed for oxygen content the evolved gas will be principally carbon dioxide, which is usually measured in a gas chromatograph.

Abstract: Molten metal sampling device for and method of sampling molten unkilled metal, especially steel, to produce a sound, non-porous, solidified test sample suitable for analysis in which metallic germanium is present in the sampling device in a quantity sufficient to kill the molten metal of the sample.