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. Chemical lnstrumentation
Edited by 5. Z. LEWIN, N e w York University, N e w York 3, N. Y .
These articles, most of whieh are lo be contributed bv W aulbrs, are intended lo serve fhe read& of fhtk JOURNAL by calling o&~liun lo new develoumenls i n the t h e m , design, or availabililv of chemical laboralow instlumlal&n, o i by presenti4 u s a d inaighk ande&lamtions of to& that are of practical imporlance to those who use, or teach Me use of, modern instnrmmlation and instrummlal technipues.
XVI. Instrumentation Teaching Equipment. Part One: Optical Devices Leonard Eisner, Barnes Engineering Company, Stamford, Connecticut Leonard Eirner received his undergradu-
The ol& model T automobile was a relatively simple piece of mechanism-simple enough for the average American with reasonshle merhmieal ability t,o tinker with and repair on occasion. As time went on, the mechrtnism became more complex, and gadget was added to gadget. This tended to make life simpler for the operator, but not for the repair man! A similar trend has occurred in the field of instrumentation, so that it is doubtful whether x reincarnated Bunsen would even recognize some modern speetrometers. And unfortunately, many of our students are not any better OK than Bunsen. T o them, a spectrometer is a "black box" with s. few openings in appropriate places, and knobs to twiddle and adjust; but as far as what goes on inside, it is just as mysterious as the inside of a T\-set ta the average housewife. Along with the trend towards blackbox packaging and complexity of design, the cast of instruments and repairs has gone up. Mistakes or faulty operation can result in serious damage. I t is, therefore, desirrtble to provide simpler instruments as training devices for students before they are allowed to operate research instruments. The quality of some beaching instruments is sufficiently good t,hat they may he used for research purposes a8 well. Another reason that pedagogic devices are needed in the instrumentation field is the continuing discovery of new effects and phenomena, which are soon used as the basis of some new instrument. With t,he accelerating pace of contemporary t,echnology, even the recent college graduate may be faced, hefore long, with the problem of using an instrument whose nrineinle of oneration is unfamiliar to him.
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