|
Z
Dimension of Spectrophotometer Cells
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What does Z Dimension
mean?
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| Z Dimension is defined
as the distance from the bottom of the cell compartment in your instrument
to the center of the light beam. |
Why Z Dimension
Important?
|
| Each
instrument manufacturer makes engineering decisions for the design of their
instrument to assure that it performs optimally. The height, width, focus
and placement of the light beam in any instrument is based on the engineering
decisions to assure that the instrument performs to their published specifications.
It is important to you, as the instrument user, only when you are attempting
to use a small sample volume. You must assure that your smaller volume is
placed in the centre of the light beam and that any light which does not
pass through your sample is blocked (or masked) by black material. If the
cell is not properly masked then the sensitivity will be eroded. |
Z Dimension of
various manufacturers
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| We have compiled this
list of Z Dimensions from some of the instrument manufacturers. If you find
a discrepancy in this list, please let us know and we will investigate. |
| Manufacturer |
Z
Dimension |
| Beckman® |
8.5
mm |
| Hewlett
Packard® |
15
mm |
| Hitachi® |
8.5
mm |
| Perkin-Elmer® |
15
mm |
| Shimadzu® |
15
mm |
| Spectronics® |
8.5
mm |
| Varian® |
15
or 20 mm |
|
 |
|
How can I determine
the Z Dimension of my instrument?
|
You can test for the
Z dimension of your instrument very easily. Simply follow these steps:
1) Cut a piece of dense paper 12mm wide and 100mm long.
2) Make a hole in the centre of the paper about 3mm in diameter (just push
a ballpoint pen through the paper) 8.5mm from the bottom of one side and
15mm from the bottom of the other.
3) Turn on your spectrophotometer in %T mode and set to any reasonable wavelength.
4) Place the piece of paper with the hole in the end into the cell holder
as if it were a cell. Whichever end (either 8.5mm or 15mm) transmits light
will tell you the Z dimension of your instrument.
5) If neither works then make up another piece of paper with holes placed
at different dimensions and determine which works best. |
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