Science Atlas

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Instruments

Gas Chromatograph

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A gas chromatograph separates the components of a vaporized sample by carrying it in an inert gas stream through a column, where each substance is slowed by a different amount as it interacts with the column's stationary phase, so the components emerge separated in time and can be identified and measured. Archer J.P. Martin and Anthony T. James developed gas-liquid chromatography in 1952, building on the partition chromatography Martin had developed with Richard Synge in the early 1940s, for which the two shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Facts
Invented Year
1952 1
Measures
Separates and identifies volatile compounds within a mixture. 2
Operating Principle
An inert carrier gas carries the vaporized sample through a narrow column; different compounds move through at different rates depending on how strongly they interact with the column's stationary phase, so they emerge separated in time. 2
Resolution
Detection down to picomole quantities in a 1 milliliter liquid sample, or parts-per-billion concentrations in gas samples; flame ionization detection reaches a few picograms per second. 2
Operating Range
Analyzes substances that vaporize below about 300 degrees Celsius, run through capillary columns roughly 100 to 320 micrometers in inner diameter and 5 to 60 meters long. 2
Cross-Tradition Connections

Invented By

Anthony T. James, Scientists

Worked with Archer Martin at the National Institute for Medical Research to develop gas-liquid partition chromatography, presented in 1950 and published in 1952.

Developed with A. T. James; their 1952 paper established gas liquid chromatography.

Used In

Sources
1. Gas Chromatography (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaView the Source
2. Gas Chromatography (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction
Quote, Introduction
separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition
View the Source
2. Gas Chromatography (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOperating Principle section
Quote, Operating Principle section
Components of the sample pass through the column at different rates, depending on their chemical and physical properties
View the Source
2. Gas Chromatography (Wikipedia)
WikipediaApplications / Detectors section
Quote, Applications / Detectors section
picomoles of a substance in a 1 ml liquid sample, or parts-per-billion concentrations in gaseous samples
View the Source
2. Gas Chromatography (Wikipedia)
WikipediaApplications / Introduction
Quote, Applications / Introduction
substances that vaporize below 300 C...can be measured quantitatively
View the Source
Anthony T. James (Wikipedia)
WikipediaInvented By: Anthony T. JamesView the Source
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