DIGITAL POLARIMETER

PRINCIPLE: Polarimeters measure the optical activity of a

substance. This is done by passing polarized light through a
substance and observing the angle of light emitted. Optically
active substances will rotate the polarized light while non-
optically active substances will have an angle of 0°. This
technique was developed to identify and study enantiomers
which share many chemical properties typically used to
distinguish one molecule from another, but that can have
significant effects in chemistry experiments,
pharmaceuticals, and food quality. While the original
polarimeters required manual adjustments to obtain a
reading, today's digital polarimeters perform readings
automatically and give instantaneous results.

WORKING : A polarimeter is a device for determining the

polarisation direction of the light or the rotation of an
optically active substance. The physicist Francois Jean
Dominique Arago made a discovery on quartz, which was
very important for polarimetry. Arago cut a quartz crystal
perpendicular to the crystal axis and saw the rotation of
linearly polarised light on the cut quartz crystal.
Polarisation, an important property of light :
The polarisation of sunlight in the Earth’s atmosphere is
invisible to humans. For some insects, such as
grasshoppers, bees and ants, it is perceptible. Bees and
other insects use it as a navigation aid, they change their
direction of flight depending on the polarisation of the
incident light.

A tropical butterfly species even reflects polarised light with

its wings in certain patterns. This polarised “beacon” attracts
females for mating. Polarisation phenomena are hidden
from us humans. We have to use physical instruments to
observe polarisation effects.

PH METER
PRINCIPLE : The working principle behind pH meters
is potentiometry. This is the measurement of a
solution's electric potential (voltage). Remember how
acidic solutions can efficiently conduct an electric
current because of the positive hydrogen ions? The
ability of a solution to conduct a current is called
electric potential.

WORKING :
• Turn on the pH meter and allow adequate time
for it to initialize. Remove the electrode from the
storage solution gently. Clean the electrode by
rinsing it with deionized water under an empty
waste beaker. Once rinsed gently, blot dry with
 non-abrasive Kim wipes or sure wipes to remove
the excess water. Do not rub the electrode as it
can damage the sensitive membrane around it
before taking any sample measurements.
• First, calibrating the pH meter takes three color-
coded standard buffer solutions of pH 7.0, 4.01,
and 9.21 for calibration. The first buffer used for
calibration is always the neutral buffer with a pH
of 7.0; the second should always be near the
expected sample pH, either 4.01 or 9.21
• Bases should be measured with buffers with a
pH of 9.21, while acidic samples should be
measured with a pH of 4.01. Place the electrodes
in the buffer solution with a pH of 7.0 and allow
the pH reading to stabilize at 7. if the H+ ion
concentration determines the needed pH
• suppose the concentration of H+ ions inside the
glass membrane electrode and solution of buffer
solution present outside the electrode is the
same. In that case, the pH equals 7. once the
standard with pH 7.0 is calibrated, rinse the
electrode with distilled water and blood dry with
Kim wipes
• In the next step, if the sample's expected pH is
acidic, select the buffer solution of pH 4.01, place
the electrodes in the buffer with a pH value of
 4.01 and press the calibrate button. Allows the
pH reading to stabilize at 4.01. if the
concentration of H+ ions inside the glass
membrane electrode is lower than the buffer
solution present outside the electrode, pH will
be less than 7.
• Once the standard with pH 4.01 is also
calibrated, rinse the electrode with distilled
water and blood dry with Kim wipes. Similarly,
you may skip the previous step if the expected
pH of the sample is on the alkaline side and
follow this step by using the buffer solution of
pH 9.21.
• Place the electrodes in the buffer with a pH
value of 9.21 and press the calibrate button.
Allows the pH reading to stabilize at 9.21 if
required pH 10 buffer solution can be used. The
concentration of H+ inside the glass membrane
electrode is higher than the buffer solution
present outside the electrode. Now the pH
displayed is more than 7. repeat the rinse
process just like the previous steps. Now the pH
meter is calibrated and ready to determine the
pH of the test sample.
• Place the electrodes in the given sample, and
then press the measure button to leave the
 electrodes in your sample until the Rading has
stabilized. This will be the exact pH value of your
solution.
• Take the electrodes out, rinse them with distilled
water
• and blot dry with Kim wipes. Immerse the probe
in three molar potassium chloride solutions for
storage like this. Consult your
• operation manual for optimal storage practices
for your specific pH meter.

Sieve Shaker

Principle:Die sieve shakers work on the principle of

vibration, agitation, or gyration. In order to effectively use
sieve shakers for screening, data on particle size
distribution, sieve load, sieve shaking method, particle
shape and size, and ratio of sieve open area to total area
must be considered. Sieving can be affected by powder
properties like friability and cohesion. In sieving, the sample
is either horizontally or vertically moved, depending on the
technology. The particles and sieve are moved around
during this movement. Depending on the size of the
particles, a particle flows through the sieve mesh or stays on
the mesh surface. The likelihood of a particle passing
through the mesh openings depends on factors such as
particle size, particle orientation, and the number of times
the particle comes in contact with the mesh openings. So,
the sieving is influenced by the sieving time and
the sieve movement.

WORKING : Arrangement of sieves in a nest is done with the

coarsest at the top. On the top sieve (Figure), a sample of
the powder is placed (50 grams). For a certain period of
time, this sieve set is shaken for 20 minutes with the
mechanical shaker apparatus. Each sieve is weighed after it
has been shaken

HOT AIR OVEN

PRINCIPLE: A hot air oven is a type of dry heat sterilization. Dry

heat sterilization is used on equipment that cannot be wet and on
material that will not melt, catch fire, or change form when
exposed to high temperatures. Moist heat sterilization uses water
to boil items or steam them to sterilize and doesn't take as long as
dry heat sterilization. Examples of items that aren't sterilized in a
hot air oven are surgical dressings, rubber items, or plastic
material.

WORKING : Hot air ovens use extremely high temperatures over

several hours to destroy microorganisms and bacterial spores.
The ovens use conduction to sterilize items by heating the outside
surfaces of the item, which then absorbs the heat and moves it
towards the center of the item.
The commonly-used temperatures and time that hot air ovens
need to sterilize materials is 170 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes,
160 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes, and 150 degrees Celsius for
150 minutes.

Hot air ovens sterilize equipment over long periods of time, so she
has to be organized in determining what items will be sterilized at
what time. This depends on when the equipment needs to be
available again. Gina's manager now explains the different types
of hot air ovens.

BOD INCUBATOR

Principle : BOD is expressed as weight of oxygen consumed per unit

volume of water during 5 days at 20°C ; BOD is related to the amount
of biodegradable organic matter in water sample ; during oxidative
degradation of organic matter, aerobic micro-organisms which
perform it, consume oxygen present in water as dissolved gas. Water
sample is diluted by a dilution solution (sometime containing
bacterial seed) ; this sample is incubated during 5 days at 293°K and
the consumed amount of oxygen is measured. It is necessary to
prepare many solutions corresponding to different dilutions in order
to chose the one which presents an oxygen consumption equals to
40 to 60 % of the initial concentration of oxygen.

Working : The Biochemical Oxygen demand (BOD) incubator is

widely used in different branches of Life Sciences. The working
principle and construction of BOD incubator is almost similar to
Bacteriological incubator. BOD incubator works at low
temperature. It is used for incubation of biochemical reactions
while conducting organic chemical studies of wastewater. And it is
also used for incubating tissue culture or fungi. The major
difference between Bacteriological incubator and BOD incubator
is the temperature range. The given article explains working
principle and construction of BOD in a simple way.

AUTO CLAVE

PRINCIPLE OF AUTOCLAVE :

The autoclave works on the principle of moist heat sterilization. The high pressure
inside the chamber increases the boiling point of water for the sterilization of
equipment. The higher pressure also ensures the rapid penetration of heat into the
deeper parts of equipment. The moisture present in the steam causes coagulation of
proteins of microbes causing irreversible loss of their activity and functions.

WORKING OF AUTOCLAVE :
• The autoclave works on the principle of moist heat sterilization where
steam under pressure is used to sterilize the material present inside
the chamber.
• The high pressure increases the boiling point of water and thus helps
achieve a higher temperature for sterilization.
• Water usually boils at 100°C under normal atmospheric pressure (760
mm of Hg); however, the boiling point of water increases if the
pressure is to be increased.
• Similarly, the high pressure also facilitates the rapid penetration of
heat into deeper parts of the material, and moisture present in the
steam causes the coagulation of proteins causing an irreversible loss
of function and activity of microbes.
• This principle is employed in an autoclave where the water boils at
121°C at the pressure of 15 psi or 775 mm of Hg.
• When this steam comes in contact with the surface, it kills the
microbes by giving off latent heat.
• The condensed liquid ensures the moist killing of the microbes.
• Once the sterilization phase is completed (which depends on the
level of contamination of material inside), the pressure is released
from the inside of the chamber through the whistle.
• The pressure inside the chamber is then restored back to the ambient
pressure while the components inside remain hot for some time.