analytical chemistry Microprocessors Come of Age
Editor: Herbert A. Laitinen EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS 1155 Sixteenth St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Phone: 202-872-4570 Teletype: 710-8220151 Managing Editor: Josephine M. Petruzzl Associate Editor; Andrew A. Husovsky Associate Editor, Easton: Elizabeth R. Rufe Assistant Editors: Barbara Cassatt, Deborah M. Cox, Nancy J. Oddenino Production Manager: Leroy L. Corcoran Associate Manager: Charlotte C. Sayre Art Director: John V. Sinnett Artists: Alan Kahan. Diane Reich Advisory Board: Donald H. Anderson, Richard P. Buck, Velmer Fassel, David Firestone, Robert A. Hofstader, Marjorie G. Homing, Philip F. Kane, Barry L. Karger, J. Jack Kirkland, Lynn L. Lewis, Harry B. Mark, Jr., Walter C. McCrone, Harry L. Pardue, Eugene A. Sawicki, w. D. Shults Instrumentation Advisory Panel: Gary D. Christian, Nathan Gochman, Robert W. Hannah, Gary Horlick, Peter J. Kissinger, James N. Little, Sidney L. Phillips, R . K. Skogerboe, Donald E. Smith Contributing Editor: Claude A. Lucchesi Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston. Ill. 60201 Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 1155 16th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Books and Journals Division Director: D. H. Michael Bowen Editorial; Charles R. Bertsch Magazine and Production: Bacil Guiley
The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy has become the traditional showplace for the most advanced concepts of commercial instrumentation. Perhaps the one word that would best epitomize the 1977 Conference, held on February 27-March 4, is “Microprocessors”. The evolution of the use of computers in chemistry shows a curious inversion. Early emphasis during the 1940’s and 50’s was towards everincreasing speed, size, and complexity. The attendant increase in cost soon demanded around-the-clock operation and time sharing usage. Such a function suited the needs of certain types of chemists, notably those with exceptionally intricate calculations and those with extraordinary volumes of data. Smaller sized installations, the minicomputers, which came upon the commercial scene in the 1960’s,more nearly suited the needs of analytical chemists because they provided immediate access, which is essential to automation via feed-back loops. Yet even these were often of such a cost and complexity to discourage their dedication to a single type of measurement. As the technology of microprocessors advanced, it became feasible to design the truly dedicated computer to meet precisely the needs of a single instrument. Thus the concept of a hierarchy of computers emerged. The microprocessor is designed to control a single sensor or instrument and perform such calculations as necessary for control and output. The minicomputer can now accept and correlate data from several microprocessors and provide long term data storage. The large central computer, which represents the final step in the hierarchy, is used to handle the larger volumes of data stored by the minicomputers. During the past year the instrument manufacturers have been especially active in tailor-making microprocessors for an ever-increasing array of analytical instruments. Such equipment now is reaching the state of maturity and reliability as to be used by nonspecialists unfamiliar with the details of its design and manufacture. Yet, as is always the case with packaged instrumentation, the user is well advised to study the fundamental principles underlying the measurements he is making, to avoid nonsensical applications.
Research and Development: Seldon W. Terrant Circulation Development: Marion Gurfein Manuscript requirements are April 1977 issue, page 686. publication (4 copies) should ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY at ington address.
published in the Manuscripts for be submitted to the ACS Wash-
The American Chemical Society and its editors assume no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by contributors. Views expressed in the editorials are those of the editors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the American Chemical Society.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 49, NO. 7, JUNE 1977
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