Editors' Column
The practicality of complex and lengthy calculations with a computer has greatly influenced instrument design and research itself. Instruments, such as the electron spectrometer (ESCA) and pulsed nmr spectrometers, incorporate the computer as an instrument component. At the very least, instruments are now "computer compatible." And the technical pages are replete with examples of how research is influenced by computer capabilities. In the New Product Section this month (page 81 A), almost all of the items deal with computers, interfaces, data processors, and related equipment. Analytical chemists have to make choices on how to best use the computer. It is easy to get more computer capability than the problems to be solved call for. It is possible to get so enchanted with what the computer can do that one forgets to ask if certain computations should be done at all, or might better be done in a simpler fashion. Analytical chemists might well lose sight of the real analytical problems to be solved—i.e., sampling, methods to use—and the overall problems so effectively summed up in Chaper One of Sidney Siggia's book, "Survey of Analytical Chemistry" (McGraw-Hill, 1968). As Robert Townsend says in his book, "Up The Organization," companies have gone broke computerizing too fast. While the research lab won't do a company in, it can certainly turn management off if results do not justify the expenditures involved. plans to offer articles related to some of these problems. In an early issue, we will have an article on the use of a large time-sharing computer which meets the computational requirements for both general off-line computations and real-time acquisition and analysis of data of inline instruments. We also plan to have articles on the evaluation of small computers and on hardware/ software tradeoffs and software design. Josephine Petruzzi ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
ACTUAL SIZE
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C A R L E I N S T R U M E N T S , INC. 1141 East Ash Avenue · Fullerton, California 92631 (714) 879-9900
Circle No. 29 on Headers' Service Card ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 42, NO. 8, JULY 1970
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67 A
