Sentence Correction

Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced X - ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it , is finding uses in medicine , archeology , and criminology .

As per OG this sentence is correct . What I dont understand is as per the rule the word WHICH should refer to the noun immediately preceding it .

If we are to follow this rule then how is this sentence correct ?

IF WHICH is referring to emission then the meaning of the sentence changes.

Can any one explain please ?

what the rule states is that 'which' must refer to the nearest complete part of the sentence.
here the complete part of the sentence is the noun- proton induced x ray emmision.. therefore it is correct.

Hope i have cleared your doubt!

fibbonnaci wrote:what the rule states is that 'which' must refer to the nearest complete part of the sentence.
here the complete part of the sentence is the noun- proton induced x ray emmision.. therefore it is correct.

Hope i have cleared your doubt!

Can you please explain what do you mean by "nearest complete part of the sentence" can you please take another example and explain.

complete part of the setence means the part of speech that completes the meaning.
'which' is used to refer to a noun, so it means we need to take the complete noun in case the word is made up of 2-3 elements. In our example- proton x-ray emmission is one instrument that we are referring to. noun- photo x ray emmission.[ emmission, i would agree, is a noun too but that is not complete in itself. it is a part of a larger complete noun- proton x ray emmission. so in effect 'which' refers to the complete noun.

Hope your doubt is cleared.

rockeyb wrote:Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced X - ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it , is finding uses in medicine , archeology , and criminology .

IMO
comma which always refers to the nearest eligible noun of the previous clause here that noun is technique
proton-induced X - ray emission is the sub in preposition called

thephoenix wrote:

rockeyb wrote:Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced X - ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it , is finding uses in medicine , archeology , and criminology .

IMO
comma which always refers to the nearest eligible noun of the previous clause here that noun is technique
proton-induced X - ray emission is the sub in preposition called

good explanation

fibbonnaci wrote:complete part of the setence means the part of speech that completes the meaning.
'which' is used to refer to a noun, so it means we need to take the complete noun in case the word is made up of 2-3 elements. In our example- proton x-ray emmission is one instrument that we are referring to. noun- photo x ray emmission.[ emmission, i would agree, is a noun too but that is not complete in itself. it is a part of a larger complete noun- proton x ray emmission. so in effect 'which' refers to the complete noun.

Hope your doubt is cleared.

Good explanation , thanks for replying.

thephoenix wrote:

rockeyb wrote:Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced X - ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it , is finding uses in medicine , archeology , and criminology .

IMO
comma which always refers to the nearest eligible noun of the previous clause here that noun is technique
proton-induced X - ray emission is the sub in preposition called

Hey thanks for your reply too what do you mean by SUB can you elaborate . I also agree with you that the noun that WHICH should refer must be the word TECHNIQUE .