REPORT FOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS
courses should be provided oppor tunity to learn more about produc tion work. EDUCATION. Some of the work of analytical chemists in two impor tant areas in industry has been de scribed. Analytical chemistry is a broad subject. Proficiency in this subject requires a wide knowledge of chemistry and of science in gen eral. Knowledge of other subjects must be acquired, too, important among which are language for ef fective communication (oral and written) and an understanding of our economic system. I t is the earnings and profits from this sys tem that form the sole support of all our activities and institutions. Without these profits a monolithic system under single direction could result in lost of individual freedom to select what to teach and learn and where to work. All—not just those in industry—need a good un derstanding of our free enterprise system. Cooperative and coordinated en deavors among all lead to the maxi mum benefit. As Laitinen {$$) says in his editorial on "Citizenship in Science," a good citizen or scientist properly shows loyalty to his own family or specialty in his own neighborhood or branch of science, but should demonstrate his loyalty to his country or to his whole science when discussing problems of common interest to the whole. There are many areas of chemistry ; primary among those that have come to be individually recognized are: inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, and analytical chemistry. These divisions have evolved with the ne cessities of time; together, they en compass the whole of chemistry. There are many subdivisions and much overlapping. They all must be considered, and our knowledge must be reorganized and coordi nated as it increases. Chemistry is a difficult science to teach and to learn. I t is both ab stract and concrete. Study of chemistry (starting at the high school, even grade school level) be gins with study of the elements or atoms and proceeds with how atoms are held together to form com pounds. How to use chemical
laboratory equipment and handle chemicals must be learned. Let's call this laboratory practice (not analytical chemistry, though the operations should be as quantita tive as possible to develop a sense of carefulness). Mathematics, phys ics, and physical chemistry princi ples must be learned to understand what is happening. The properties of the chemical elements and typi cal chemical compounds, and some thing about their origins must be learned too. (Some students will turn awajr from chemistry for study of mathematics, physics, etc. ; they should not be discouraged, nor should their doing so be discourag ing to the teacher of chemistry—be cause they, too, will be needed.) For those seeking careers in chemis try, we should continue to seek ways for acquainting students with the subject matter of all the princi pal areas of chemistry. These are the major areas for which chemists are sought by industry, government, and I believe by educational insti tutions. To assist the student in se lecting his major area for work, he should know the general require ments of, and the opportunities for, work in each. This broad general study then should be followed by concentrated study in the student's area of choice to provide him with a reasonable basis for entering indus try or continuing with graduate study. The principal areas (or dis ciplines) of chemistry just men tioned need not be specifically de fined until near the end of under graduate study. So de-emphasizing them should minimize much of the current discussion about which of them should be taught, and where, and when, and which should be re quired or elective. The curriculum must, of course, include energy transitions, chemical equilibria, reaction kinetics, and the other nec essary topics of chemistry, and the subject matter of all these topics must be carefully integrated and presented step-wise by qualified teachers, to build up the student's knowledge of chemistry. Graduate study (or extensive experience and personal study) is necessary for a comprehensive grasp of chemistry and should be pursued by those de siring careers in research or teach ing in the science. Continued study See ACS Laboratory Guide for All Products/Sales OfficeCircle No. 130 on Readers' Service Card
summatic integrator T h e S u m m a t i c I n t e g r a t o r is a new tool to automatically c o m pute and present on printed tape, i n d i g i t a l f o r m , p e a k areas w h i c h are a f u n c t i o n of m a s s , c o n c e n t r a t i o n or s t r u c t u r e .
The Summatic Integrator incorpo rates small peak accuracy, wide dynamic range and low cost. These three desirable requirements have not been available in competitively priced integrators until now. Nester/ Faust's Summatic assures you of the following: I Automatic count of each peak at a rate which gives approximately the same high statistical relia bility—regardless of peak height up to a maximum signal of one volt. II Proven and reliable voltage to frequency conversion technique to convert the input signal to a number of pulses that is pro portional to the area. This tech nique in conjunction with a novel Auto-Ranging* device gives good statistics on small peaks ( ± 3 % on 100μν peaks of 3 seconds duration,) and a dynam ic range of 0 to 1 volt DC auto matically. Precision on larger peaks is about ±0.7% for 20 mv peaks 10 seconds long. Ill Low cost since the Summatic's Auto-Ranger allows the use of a narrow range 0 to 1 mv stabilized amplifier, a narrow range 0 to 100 cps voltage to frequency con verter, and a fast mechanical counter-printer that does not re quire provision for memory. The Auto-Ranging circuit attenuates the input signal by a factor of ten at 3 decades of signal amplitude ("1,10 and 100 mvj and directs the output from the converter to the next higher counting wheel in the counter-printer. A recorder output with attenuator is supplied. It operates through the Auto-Ranger so that the pen of a 1 mv recorder will remain on scale with signals into the Summatic up to 1 volt DC. Electronic construction is all solid state for long life and reliability. Write for full technical literature. Nester/Faust Instrument Pro ducts Division, 2401 Ogletown Road, Newark, Delaware. ^Patents pending. NESTSER F A U S T
