Have you ever wondered why that tiny Sometimes the secrets to this great big world are found in the smallest of details.
If you are a research scientist who works with the particle size analysis principle you know this to be true. In fact, an entire industry is built around the process of paying attention to the smallest of details. Like every other industry, technological advancements have been changed the previous thoughts about particle size analysis principle. In fact, over the last twenty years, laser diffraction has, to a large extent, replaced traditional methods of particle size analysis, such as sedimentation and sieving.
Consider some of these facts about particle size distribution testing:
- Dynamic Light Scattering is by far the easiest methods to use when measuring very small particles, for example, those that are smaller than 0.5um.
- Although laser diffraction may be one of the newest and most effective particle analysis techniques, there are many other methods. For instance, sieving is one of the oldest particle sizing methods, but it is still widely used for relatively large particles, for instance those that are larger than 1mm.
- Particle size is a valuable indicator of quality and performance, as well as influencing many properties of particulate materials. This is true for emulsions, powders, aerosols, and suspensions. Droplets or powders in the range of 2 to 5um penetrate into lungs deeper than larger sizes because they aerosolize better.
- Inadequate dispersion is the greatest source of measurement error for particles with a diameter less than 20 um, according to scientific research.
- Laser diffraction works on the principle that when a beam of light, also known as a laser, is scattered by a group of particles. In this process, the angle of light scattering is inversely proportional to particle size, especially those that are smaller the particle size, the larger the angle of light scattering. Laser diffraction testing has become one of the most commonly used particle sizing methods, especially for particles in the range of 0.5 to 1000 microns.
- The major advantage of standard laser infraction is that it can measure particles that range in size from 400 nm up to a few millimeters.