Case Studies

Nanoparticles (NP), defined as having one or more dimension of 1-100 nm, are used in a range of modern products, including cosmetics, sunscreen, coatings for solar cells, and materials for water treatment. A factor for their extensive use is the greater chemical activity imparted by their large surface area relative to their si...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a diagnostic, mainly qualitative, technique used to visualise the soft tissues of a patient. The application of a strong magnetic field causes the protons in a patient’s hydrogen atoms to align with it. Radiofrequency pulses are then used to force the protons to move out of and back into alig...

Measurements underpin almost all areas of modern life, including trade, industrial manufacture, environment and health. However, no measurement is perfect — factors such as the instrument type, operator, measurement method or the environment can affect the returned results. All these factors combine to produce a ‘measurement un...

The EU accounts for around 15 % of the world’s international trade in goods. Purchases are heavily influenced by conscious and subconscious visual cues which we relate as ‘quality’ in a product. A poor finish on a car, for example, may cause paint to develop an ‘orange peel’ look, eliciting a negative response in a buyer. This ...

Conventionally the calibration of photometric equipment was performed with tungsten filament standard lamps with the standard illuminant A spectrum, which was published by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) in 1931 and was originally designed for use with incandescent lighting products. However, incandescent co...

Many high-end industrial production processes, including semiconductor and solar cell manufacturing, utilise high (10-1-10-5 Pa) and ultra-high (10-5-10-10 Pa) vacuums. Instrumentation used in these areas, such as residual gas analysers and quadrupole mass spectrometers, require accurate calibration with ionisation gauges (IG)....