Industrial Science

AFM-IR , or atomic force microscopy based infrared spectroscopy is a form of chemical imaging which creates a visual image of components which make up chemicals, which uses extremely high powered microscopes. This is typically done with a radiation source to illuminate the sample which is being observed, as well as the usage of an AFM probe which detects thermal expansions from the radiation source. Also used is a high-powered imaging system to translate the probe’s movements into an image, and finally a detector array to categorise. AFM-IR places results in a three-dimensional block, which spans x and y dimensions. AFM-IR has enormous application in a whole variety of fields. Whether it is chemistry, biology, medicine, pharmaceutical agricultural or industrial use, the ability to analyse substances and work our properties is vital. AFM-IR has quickly become one of the most powerful and efficient ways to characterise material surfaces, especially at nanoscale resolution. Na...

Electron Spectroscopy for chemical analysis, or the ESCA system for short, is a science all to itself and branches from quantum mechanics. It is not a new science by any means, and has roots dating back to 1905 when Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his interpretation, using quantum mechanics, of the photoelectric effect. This research facilitated the discovery of Heinrich Hertz and Max Planch that light indeed travels in an electromagnetic wavelength, as well of the discover of discrete energy portions. Nowadays, these discrete energy portions are named “quantum”, and all aspects of quantum physics is said to come from this truly ground breaking and pioneering research. You might wonder just how quantum physics factors into chemical analysis, and the answer is that it affects chemical analysis just as much as it affects all of the sciences – quite a lot. This discovery assisted the progression of practically all of the sciences, and for chemical analysis in pa...