Microcomputer technology

Most electronic technology systems use digital electronics in conjunction with microcomputer technology to allow the instrumentation user to calibrate and troubleshoot the instrumentation from either a local or remote location. This capability is commonly referred to as "Smart" electronic technology. 

The move toward online analysis has been caused by the increased international competitiveness between companies in the chemical industry. In an increasingly consumer driven market, chemical manufacturers must supply their customers with products of a consistently high quality, and be able to supply these products when required by the customer. The increased control obtained by using online analysis allows the quality of materials to be maintained, and reduces delays in the delivery of products by reducing the number of batches that require to be reworked or discarded. The adoption of online analysis by the chemical industry has been aided by developments in microcomputer technology and analytical instrumentation, allowing data and hence information to be generated almost instantaneously. 

Chemists, and indeed scientists in general, have only begun to explore the uses of delays and delay models in probing the systems they wish to understand. As the mathematical and computational aspects of DDEs come to seem less formidable and as advances in microcomputer technology make introduction of delayed feedback into experiments a straightforward task, one can expect many advances beyond the examples presented here. 

Effective Allocation of Functions In designing work, it is essential to know the capability and limitations of humans and how those contrast with machines and equipment. The capabiUty of machines and equipment has increased rapidly with the infusion of microcomputer technology. Some machines and equipment may now be better at some functions for which humans were better in the past. Table 6.1 lists some of the differences between people and machines. 

Further development of microcomputer technology and extension of its applications. 

Metalloids (such as silicon) are semiconductors and materials composed of metalloids play an important role in microcomputer technology. 

Kinetic studies have benefited immensely from microcomputers. Whereas dedicated software is often necessary for interfacing to specific instmments, data analysis can be carried out using readily available software materials capable of producing high quaUty graphical output. Most recentiy, it has become common to measure concentrations in some way that produces digital data that is entered automatically into the computer (see Computer technology). 

Jones, A.G. and Teodossiev, N.M., 1988. Microcomputer programming of dosage rate during batch precipitation. Crystal Research and Technology, 23, 957-966. 

Jones, A.G., Akers, S.R.G. and Budz, J., 1986. Microcomputer programming of temperature in a batch cooling crystallizer. Crystal Research and Technology, 21, 1383-1390. 

HE EIEI D OF SIZE EXCl.USION CHROMATOGRAPHY (SEC) Continues tO grow in scope and in depth. Since the last American Chemical Society symposium on this subject in 1979, about 300 papers have been published annually. The continuing interest in the field is a result of (1) improved column technology, (2) availability of improved and varied in-line detectors, and (3) improved data treatment procedures and methods facilitated by the microcomputer explosion of the last 5 years. 

Fig. 11. The response surface of a two-factor system. The lines represent equi-response lines. Optimization by varying one factor at a time. From P. J. Golden and S. N. Deming, Laboratory Microcomputer 3, 44 (1984). Reproduced by permission of Science Technology Letters, England...

The birth of the microcomputer can actually be traced back to the development of the transistor. With early electronic devices and computers the system of storing digital information was based on the use of vacuum tubes. These were cumbersome, expensive, and used a tremendous amount of power. They were much faster than relays, however, they were considerably slower than anything produced under today s standards. With the development of the transistor a revolution in the design of computer systems ushered in the time when systems would become smaller and more capable and less costly. The transistor was faster than its predecessor, the vacuum tube, required less power and was much cheaper to develop and produce than the vacuum tube technology. 

We also feel there is room for extensive testing and research in new areas associated with this type of technology. For example, time dependent measurements may be important for various types of sensory evaluation. Previously, to achieve time dependent measurements was a tremendously exhaustive chore and may not have been able to be made using normal taste panel procedures and environments. With this type of application of microcomputers in sensory evaluation we foresee the use of time dependent measurements as a new area of possible development. 

The use of microcomputers will certainly become an integral part of the biochemistry curriculum. Computational biochemistry is the new interdisciplinary subject that applies computer technology to solve biochemical problems and to manage and analyze biochemical information. 

Cohan, P., "Current Technologies in Chemical Structure and Substructure Searching Using Microcomputers" Online 87 Information Proceedings, Learned Information, New Jersey, 8-10 December 1987, pp 533-545. 

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