Ultrasonic cleaning can be used for desulfurization, but the efficiency is not uniform. To evaluate the connection between the ultrasonic cleaner action and desulfurization efficiency, researchers in the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology of Tianjin University in China measured both. They measured the cavitation action with a simple tin-foil test, putting sheets of tin Read More

Ultrasonic cleaning is efficient, convenient, and effective, but there are some specialized situations where alternative cleaning methods are necessary. One possibility is excimer laser cleaning. When a surface is coated with a liquid film then exposed to UV-pulses from the laser, the laser pulses induce explosive vaporization of the liquid. That carries particulates away. The Read More

This is a nice little video from Columbia College in Alberta, Canada. First it introduces a method of cleaning your ultrasonic cleaner — especially important for applications such as sterilizing dental instruments. It’s a simple process, simply explained. The second part of the video introduces and demonstrates a method for ensuring your ultrasonic cleaner is Read More

The ultrasonic cleaner is an effective and convenient lab apparatus. But it’s a lot more than a cleaner. The same sound-wave-induced cavitation bubble creation and collapse — and the resultant pressure jets — also have many other uses. One of those uses is to disperse colloids with sonication. Why would you want to do that? Read More

I think I’ve mentioned before that tattoos are something I just don’t understand. I mean, any business that has to have late evening hours on weekends just so they can get customers when they’re drunk enough to decide to mutilate themselves just seems inherently questionable. But if you are going to get wasted and let Read More

Surface properties are the most critical factor in determining a material’s interactions with the world. Whether you’re a tree, a person, or a hunk of metal, your interactions are mediated through your surface. And if you happen to be a metal, you might be concerned with such things as how well you can mate with Read More

The National Center for Electron Microscopy is “”a forefront research center for electron-optical characterization of materials with state-of-the-art instrumentation and expertise.”" Obviously, they need to integrate the latest electron-imaging technology to maintain that status. Not quite as obviously, they also need to incorporate the best sample preparation apparatus and processes as well. After all, they’re Read More

When you want different labs to provide comparable testing services, you need to develop standard operating procedures.  An example is provided in the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Standard Operating Procedure for Tuberculocidal Activity of Disinfectants: In vitro Test for Determining Tuberculocidal Activity.”  Such procedures are step-by-step explanations for how to perform a specific laboratory analysis.  If Read More