Trends in analytical instrumentation

Methods for deriving chemical information from a variety of systems and environments have changed dramatically in the last decade. Unique principles from physics, chemistry, and biology are the basis for sophisticated instruments that incorporate computers for data acquisition, reduction, and interpretation. Such analytical systems have shown orders-of-magnitude improvements in sensitivity, specificity, and speed, yet with greater simplicity and lower price. The increasing importance of analytical instrumentation requires reexamination of its coverage in educational curricula and of the role of the analytical chemist in its further development and application.     

Developments in electrochemical instrumentation

Commercial electrochemical instrumentation is in a state of mature development. Microprocessors are used mainly as devices for data handling, and there are no commercial computer-based instruments. Progress in the science and proliferation of applications depend on noninstrumental factors such as electrode materials.     

虚拟仪器技术及其在农业工程中的应用

虚拟仪器技术正在成为测试测量与控制领域的重要应用工具.该文介绍了虚拟仪器的概念、特点、结构和以LabVIEW为代表的开发工具, 并通过国内外几个农业工程领域的应用实例,说明虚拟仪器技术在农业工程研究领域有着广阔的应用前景.     

The 1985 pittsburgh conference: a special instrumentation report

For the first time in its 36 years of operation, the Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy had a sharp drop in attendance-down 16 percent to 20,731. That loss was attributed to the fact that the meeting was held in New Orleans for the first time, and most of the lost attendees were students and young professionals who had previously come for only 1 day. The number of exhibitors and the number of booths, however, were both up about 15 percent, to 730 and 1856, respectively. A large proportion of that increase was contributed by foreign companies exhibiting for the first time, but there were also some well-known names, such as General Electric and Xerox, making first forays into analytical chemistry. There was also a sharp increase in the number and type of instruments displayed. "The key skill now in analytical chemistry," says Perkin-Elmer president Horace McDonell, Jr., "may be simply finding the right tool to obtain the answers you need." The predominant theme of the show, as it has been for the past few years, was automation of both laboratories and instruments. That trend is having major effects in chemical laboratories, but it is also affecting the instrument companies themselves. At large companies such as Varian, Beckman, and Perkin-Elmer, as much as 50 percent of the research and development budget is now going toward development of software-a much higher percentage than it was even 5 years ago. Another trend in automation also seemed clear at the show. As recently as 2 or 3 years ago, much of the available software for chemistry was designed for Apple and similar computers. Now, the laboratory standard is the IBM PC. As a representative of another company that manufactures computers noted with only slight exaggeration, "There's probably not a booth on the floor that doesn't have one."     

Computer instrumentation for the NSDL soil bin penetrometer car

A microcomputer instrumentation system was developed for use with the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory (NSDL) soil bin penetrometer car. This system provided measurement of penetrometer force and depth as well as location on the soil bin, graphic display of penetrometer force vs. depth, and transmission of all data to the NSDL host computer. Hardware and software development and system operation are discussed.