Computer Simulation of Electronic Circuits Used in Chemical Instrumentation
Omowunmi A. Sadik, Miu Chu Cheung · Journal of Chemical Education · 2001
The knowledge of basic electronics is necessary for chemists designing new instrumentation, troubleshooting existing instruments, or trying to gain a general understanding of the information extracted from chemical instrumentation. However, basic electronics as typically presented in electronics and physics textbooks is hardly in an ideal format for chemistry majors. This paper describes a laboratory experiment that reinforces the fundamentals of electronics in a format intended for chemistry majors taking an instrumentation course. The approach combines hands-on laboratory exercise and computer simulation. The experiment is divided into three parts. Part 1 introduces students to computer design and simulation of circuit components using Electronic Workbench. Part 2 is a close-knit exercise correlating computer simulation and hands-on experimental measurements using solderless breadboards. The final part relates the circuits studied in Parts 1 and 2 to those typically found in chemical instrumentation. The experiments can be completed in two laboratory sessions.