What does non-destructive analysis mean?

Abstract The idea of non-destructive elemental composition analysis is reviewed. The term non-destructive has many definitions in many different fields, as well as different definitions within a single field. The definition of non-destructive is discussed for several different fields: archeology, paleontology, forensics, space science, geochemistry. Activation analysis techniques, claimed to be used non-destructively in many fields, are used as a lens to provide a unique perspective on what non-destructive means. A list of criteria was created to create a broad, general definition of non-destructive. Finally, photon activation analysis is discussed as a potential non-destructive technique for bulk elemental composition analysis of large samples.