Swagelok Northern California Blog

The growing public awareness of the dangers of plastic waste, coupled with no slowdown in the amount of waste being produced worldwide, is leading to a revolution. Numerous researchers in labs around the globe are designing viable ways to make post-consumer plastic products 100% recyclable.

Gases behave differently with fluctuations in pressure and temperature, both of which are likely to occur in a sampling system. These fluctuations can result in condensation or time delay, affecting analyzer results. To avoid these issues, try to reduce a gas sample’s pressure as soon as possible, by as much as possible.

A few extra thoughts on getting a good seal and making sure it stays that way

"Every male thread Swagelok produces is installed with a plastic protective cap for shipping. Protective covers keep threads from being accidentally dented or otherwise marred. A dent in a male pipe thread is a time bomb."

- From Nice Threads! Make Sure You Keep Them That Way

Solid, liquid, and gas are not the only phases of matter. There are several other varieties that exist under extremes of temperature or pressure. An AI simulation has recently added to these:   potassium atoms can exhibit properties of both a solid and a liquid at the same time.

A University of Toronto Engineering team has built magnetic ‘tweezers’ that can position a nano-scale bead inside a human cell with astonishing precision. The tweezer-bot has already been used to study cancer cells. It is hoped that it will offer improved diagnosis and treatment for cancer and other diseases.

Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, a team of scientists led by Nobel laureate Adam Riess has revealed that the universe is expanding much faster than previously thought. The widening gap between the predicted and measured rate of expansion may require new laws of physics to explain.

Grab sampling is one of the most common and cost-effective sampling techniques for collecting a chemical sample. Also known as closed loop system sampling, it is the collection of a fluid or gas sample in a pipeline, tank or other industrial system with the intent of transporting the sample to a laboratory for analysis.

What to look for in pipe threads, and how to make sure you get a good seal

Infrared devices that aid law enforcement by detecting the heat given off by a hiding criminal are bulky. The solution? An injectable biocompatible nanoparticle that can give animals (and eventually humans) the ability to see light near IR wavelengths.

High-speed aerodynamics gives rise to a different set of problems than aerodynamics of objects moving slower than hypersonic (3,836 mph, or 5 times the speed of sound). University at Buffalo aerospace engineer James Chen is determined to understand high speed airflow and reduce turbulence in order to pave the way for more efficient, safer, and quieter supersonic flight.

Fighter pilots may soon find themselves leading squadrons of unmanned aircraft on reconnaissance missions. A new drone in the works at Boeing Australia is designed to fly in groups of up to six alongside traditional fighter jets and respond to the orders of the pilot. Onboard AI will allow them to fly independently.

Process measurements are instantaneous, but analyzer responses never are. From the tap to the analyzer, there is always a time delay. Regulators can help because they control pressure, and pressure in an analytical system is closely related to time.

Options and special models make them ideal for a wide variety of applications

Scientists have finally discovered the answer to a 2-year vexing question. Certain proteins that act like very tiny pumps for ions have been discovered in the DNA of lemons, but are all but absent from sweet citrus like oranges. The researchers found them while studying petunias, which have similar pumps for coloring their petals.

DOE and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers have developed a method that can turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines. The method stacks together 2D layers of tungsten disulfide and tungsten diselenide to create a superlattice with exotic physical properties. The twist angle between the layers is what turns this 2D semiconducting system into an exotic quantum material with highly interacting electrons.

Silicate glass—the type used in display screens and fiber optics—when electrically heated can superheat even to vapor near the anode while remaining solid elsewhere, defying Joule’s first law of thermodynamics. Researchers at Lehigh University have discovered that the electrical field causes a nanoscale change in the structure and chemistry of the glass.

Any analyzer engineer will tell you that process sampling systems can be challenging to operate correctly. If any components within your sampling system fail, your facility may experience downtime, potential economic loss, and perhaps major safety concerns. Here are some of the most common sampling system challenges we’ve seen in our combined 80 years of experience.

We offer them in pneumatic or electric versions, with a manual override too

An international team of researchers has developed a new method of fabricating atom-thin processors for eventual use in smaller and faster semiconductors. The new method, thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL), uses far less power than the traditional method, and produces 2D transistors of much higher quality.

The Open Source Fusor Research Consortium has confirmed that Jackson Oswalt of Memphis, TN has become the youngest person in history to achieve nuclear fusion. In what used to be the playroom in his parents’ house, Jackson used 50,000V of electricity to heat deuterium gas in a vacuum, fusing the atoms’ nuclei and creating a fusion reaction.