subject: Just How Clean is Our Water? The Different Lab Testing Apparatuses for Water and their Uses [print this page] Just How Clean is Our Water? The Different Lab Testing Apparatuses for Water and their Uses
It is said that water is the world's most precious resource. What happens if there are no ways for scientists or researchers to test if the water supply of certain areas is clean or not? People would probably be faced with the idea that the glass of water they have just drunk could have contained harmful microscopic substances. Fortunately, there are lab testing apparatuses that can help determine the true quality of water.
There are different types of lab testing apparatuses to determine the cleanliness of water. These can be as large as a spectrophotometer or as small as a handheld water quality meter. Some lab testing apparatuses can be used at home, while others are used by environmental researchers. These researchers can conduct their experiments inside a normal laboratory, or they can take their instruments with them and visit a source of water that they plan on testing -- such as a river or water reservoir.
Two of the recent water testing instruments being used today are the atomic absorption instrument and multisensory arrays. An atomic absorption instrument is used to detect any presence of arsenic or lead in a body or sample of water. Multisensory arrays, on the other hand, are used by oceanographers to measure the ocean's current, pressure or depth, and turbidity. One huge difference between these outdoor lab testing apparatuses and those used inside laboratories is that these instruments are tougher and can withstand extreme weather conditions and temperatures.
For those at home, the water quality meter is the most basic water testing instrument that they can use. It helps one measure the water's pH, turbidity or clarity, salinity, and even its conductivity. There are other meters, probes, and kits that test a water supply's ph, salinity, conductivity, and temperature. A usual kit would include the "measuring stick", plus the removable electrodes that measure either pH or ORP, otherwise known as the oxidation reduction potential. It is the total electrical charge emitted by the water.
Now that you know the different types of lab testing apparatuses for water, what's stopping you from getting one of your own? Before drinking that glass of water, you can at least make sure that the water is as clean as a whistle.
