March 9th, 2006 - Volume 1 Issue 3

The Ministry of Commerce for the People’s Republic of China seeks to draw vendors of scientific instrumentation to participate in a market estimated at a billion dollars a year. Their drawing card: the China International Scientific Instrument and Laboratory Equipment Exhibition (CISILE). Founded in 2003, the show serves as a gateway for vendors seeking to do business in China and other parts of Asia. To learn the history of the show, as well as how to participate, view this bulletin by the Ministry.

SIS provides supplies and services for mass spectrometers, gas chromatographs, and related scientific equipment. The SIS Short Path Thermal Desorption System and GC Cryo-Trap are used for the solvent free analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organics. They specialize in the repair and manufacture of filaments and components for scientific instruments.

Designed for the busy electrician, the PowerVisa 440D delivers an easy to set-up, easy to navigate color graphical touch screen interface with the advanced horsepower you expect from a Dranetz-BMI power monitor. Learn more about Davis Inotek Instruments, LLC.

Thermo Electron Corp. has taken a hybrid approach to mass spectrometry in its newest product, the LTQ Orbitrap. Combining an electrostatic ion trap with time-of-flight analysis gives the device sub-femto-mole sensitivity. Read all of the details in the company's product announcement.

Agilent Technologies has introduced its 6000 series of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems that include five classes of equipment. These classes include triple quadrapole and quadrapole time-of-flight spectrometers, as well as ion trap devices. All instruments include Autotune self-calibration functions. You can get more information from the company's product release, which includes links to datasheets.

The CycloGraph system from Analtech is a centrifugally-accelerated device for performing preparative chromotagraphic separations. Separations occur quickly, taking about 20 minutes compared to the typical 90 to 120 minutes using column or thin-layer chromatography. More details are available here.

As an upgrade to its popular 1100 LC liquid chromatography, Agilent Technologies has introduced the 1200 LC series with Rapid Resolution technology. Processing is some 20 times faster and 60% more accurate, and the unit offers more than 60 instrument modules for handling all major LC applications. Follow the link for additional information.

Environics designs and manufactures computerized gas delivery, calibration, mixing, and dilution systems. Their technological leadership, specifically their ability to mix gases to a tolerance of ±1% of set-point, has been unequaled by competition in the field. The systems are highly precise analytical tools, intended to enhance the accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of any gas analytic device. Find out more about their multi-component gas mixing system.

Model LPDT is a loop-powered transmitter with the full feature set of a regular instrument, i. e. a local display and full user interface. The LPDT is available with optional NEMA 4X (IP 65) protection and is ideally suited for integration into sample systems or OEM applications. Learn more about Cosa Instrument Corporation.

Paints, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics – all benefit from Colorimetry, the science of color measurement. This Konica Minolta tutorial, reprinted from The 2005 Photonics Handbook™, explains how standardizing color in numerical terms contributes to global manufacturing and processing. For additional information on colorimeters, spectrophotometers, light booths, and software, look here.

Precise positioning of a light source is an essential step when aligning optical systems. The micro bead position sensor (MBPS) from Spectral Applied Research helps that positioning by accurately measuring nanometer-sized displacements. Details on this quadrant detector system are available from the company's featured product page.

A new Right Angle Alignment Kit from Pinpoint Laser Systems® combines a laser micro-gage with a 90-line optical squaring attachment to check the squareness and parallelism of machinery. The kit allows plant personnel to check and align their own equipment as needed. This full story on the kit provides more details as well as a link to the company Web site.

Tegam has released two new units for calibrating RF power sensors. The units together cover the range from 100 kHz to 18 MHz and can perform calibrations in less than 30 minutes. Their thermistor internal power standard is internally temperature controlled and measures DC power to 0.003%. Look here for data sheets and users' manuals.

The Megger BITE 3 Battery Impedance Test Equipment determines the health of lead-acid cells up to 2000 Ah by taking measurements of the most important battery parameters. It determines health of lead-acid cells up to 2000 Ah and measures impedance, interconnection resistance, and cell voltage. Find out more about Megger.

SiGNUM™ RESM optical angle encoders from Renishaw make an ideal fit for direct drive rotary (DDR) motors, eliminating position error and backlash while delivering speeds to over 3,600 rev/min, accuracy to ±0.5 arc second, plus resolution and repeatability to 0.02 arc second.

National Instruments is helping out engineers new to the measurement field by offering a series of Web-based tutorials on Measurement Fundamentals. The topics include analog, digital, RF, sensor, and instrument measurements. Each one includes theory, practical examples, and interactive audiovisuals. The Measurement Fundamentals Main Page is the place to start.

Calibration service provider TrigasFI will be offering training on flow measurement and calibration as well as on measurement uncertainty at the company's Munich, Germany facility in late September this year. The company has hotel rooms reserved for training attendees, because the event coincides with Oktoberfest. The courses are limited to 15 participants, so read about the seminars and register early.

Not all analysis is chemical. Optical inspections can also yield significant insights, especially for forensic investigators. Here is a quick test about what you can learn from hair by looking closely. Do you know what to look for?

It’s a skier's dream: a suit that is soft and flexible yet turns rigid upon impact to protect against injury. No longer the stuff of science fiction - the material is a combination of a viscous liquid and a polymer. The atoms flow when flexed but lock together on impact, spreading out the force and protecting against injury. You can find more science fiction turned reality at the Technovelgy Web site as well as links to the suit-maker's home page.

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