MeasureNet Blog

MeasureNet's New Features - Part 4 - New Chemistry Experiments and Probes

  

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The folks here at MeasureNet have been hard at work integrating new probes into our system and creating new experiments.  In this blog entry we'll be introducing the following new experiments and probes:

• Thermometric Titrations
• Conductivity Probe & Experiment Options
• Colorimetric Titration  Hardware

Thermometric Titrations

The newest software integrates the drop counter and temperature probe and now has the capability to conduct experiments with Temperature vs Drops.  This allows users to conduct Thermometric Titrations.  

Conductivity Probe & Experiment Options

 MeasureNet now offers a 4 range high resolution conductivity probe.  MeasureNet provides users the ability to conduct experiments with Conductivity vs Time and use the drop counter for Conductivity vs Volume for Conductometric Titrations.  

Colorimetric Titration Hardware

MeasureNet systems now have the ability to conduct colorimetric, Fluorometric, turbidometric and chemiluminescent titration experiments. When ordering colorimeters, customers can specify if they would like them customized for photometric titrations.  The kit includes a colorimeter, a base stand, a pump with power supply, and custom-made flow cell that pair with the MeasureNet colorimeter and drop counter.  

MeasureNet's New Features - Part 3 - New Chemistry Experiments and Probes 1

  

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The folks here at MeasureNet have been hard at work integrating new probes into our system and creating new experiments.  In this blog entry we'll be introducing the following new experiments and probes:

• Dual Probe Experiments (Pressure, Temperature & Voltgage)
• Thermocouple Temperature Probe
• Melting point Experiment

Dual Probe Experiments

MeasureNet now has the ability to collect data from 2 of the same probe if using the voltage, pressure, or temperature probes.  New experiment options have been added to each probe's menu to allow dual probe collection.  In order to use the dual probe option, customers will need the MeasureNet dual probe adaptor (pictured below).

Thermocouple Temperature Probe

MeasureNet also offers a thermocouple type J temperature probe now for applications that fall outside the range of our standard temperature probe.  The new thermocouple probe has a temperature range from -180C to +475C.  

Mel-Temp Switch & Experiment

Along with the thermocouple probe, MeasureNet now offers a solution that will make Melt Temp experiments easier.  During a Mel-Temp experiment, you can use the Melt Temp Switch to keep track of a small range of temperatures when your compound nears melting temperature.  You can then use print code 400 to print an overall temperature graph along with a graph that focuses on the range where the sample started to melt.  

Make sure to keep a lookout for the next set of probes and experiments.  We still have more to show.

MeasureNet's Multi-Functional Optical Drop Counter Celebrates 10 Years!

  

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Development of MeasureNet’s optical drop counter began in 2000. Our goal was not only to automate, simplify and shorten the time for pH titration experiments, but also to improve the accuracy of students’ measurements. During its development, various innovative features were added to the design, as seen in Figure 1. MeasureNet’s Multi-Functional Drop Counter holds both a pH probe and a temperature probe, reducing the hardware needed to set up pH titration experiments, and the geometry was optimized to allow the use of small beakers and samples.

 Before the days of optical drop counters, simple wire electrical conductivity devices were the only automated and economical solutions for pH titrations in the teaching laboratory. A drop from the buret would make contact with two bare wires positioned closely together, creating a conductive current path. An electronic circuit would then convert this current into a pulse that was counted. A student could then calculate volume based on the number of drops and the average drop size, determined in a separate experiment. The MeasureNet system automatically determines the average drop size in each titration.

 The most common method of performing pH titrations is the manual method. The drawbacks to this method:

 Time consuming, giving students time to perform few titrations in a lab period.

• Larger reagent volumes required, making titrations more expensive in terms of reagent usage and disposal.

• Requires repetition for students to master endpoint detection with reasonable precision.

The 22nd BCCE at Penn State University marks the 10th anniversary of MeasureNet Technology’s introduction of the Optical Drop Counter to the chemical education community. During this decade, the MeasureNet drop counter has become a star in chemistry labs around the country and the world, performing a variety of functions even its designers had never imagined. MeasureNet’s drop counter allows students to leap past the typical pH titration experiment and engage in other interesting and educational titration methods like thermometric, potentiometric, amperometric and colorimetric titrations.

 MeasureNet Technology's introduction of the industry’s first Multi-Functional Optical Drop Counter technology in 2002 at the 17th BCCE at Western Washington University obviously caught the attention of the conference attendees and venders. The MeasureNet drop counter has emerged as the industry standard, copied by all its competitors, such as Vernier Software & Technology, Pasco Scientific and MicroLab Inc. MeasureNet is both flattered by this attention and inspired to do more to bring innovative technology into the teaching laboratory.

Acid Resistant Temperature Probes for the Chemistry Lab

  

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What makes the MeasureNet temperature probe unique? Two features in combination are what set this probe apart from other stainless-steel sheathed probes on the market; its rapid four-second response time and its acid resistant coating. These two characteristics are essential for conducting experiments like thermometric titrations and freezing point depressions in the general chemistry lab.

Before I go into the details of how we achieve these two essential characteristics, lets examine the most common temperature sensor options found in the chemistry lab. Listed in the table below are the three types most commonly used sensors and their properties:

• Thermocouple

• Thermistor

• Resistive Temperature Device (RTD)

   

One sensor not mentioned is the solid-state temperature sensor. We selected the LM35CH solid-state sensor for the MeasureNet temperature probe for three reasons; its response time, temperature range, and its easy interface to the measurement stations. 

In designing the MeasureNet temperature probe, we focused on two characteristics; response time and acid resistance. The response time is particularly pertinent when selecting a temperature probe. When  trying to measure a fast thermal reaction with a temperature probe that has a slow response time, as they say, garbage-in equals garbage-out! The other consideration is acid resistance, which impacts the probes durability. 

This is where MeasureNet's acid resistant and thermally conductive coating comes in to play. It maintains its superior protective properties over long periods of time with minimal impact on its response time. It has passed extensive tests for protecting the probe in hydrochloric, phosphoric, sulfuric and nitric acid solutions. Most of the temperature probes on the market designed for rugged lab use embed the temperature sensor in a stainless-steel sheath. Although this gives the probe superior mechanical strength and some protection against weak acids, it  slows the response time of the probe to 8-30 seconds depending on the sensor used and the design of the sheath. MeasureNet designed the temperature probe with the end user in mind, students in the chemistry lab.