The annual energy usage in a typical U.S. life science laboratory has recently been estimated at 4.54 GJ/m2/year,1 almost three times the energy usage of a medium intensity commercial building (1.79 GJ/m2/year).

Refractometers are instruments that quantify and identify chemicals and materials based on their refractive index (RI).

Laboratories have numerous weighing options, including sliding-scale mechanical balances, top loaders, and analytical balances.

Most laboratory workers view ovens almost as utilities, using them principally for drying glassware and heatresistant equipment, regenerating desiccants and catalysts, gently heating samples (and sometimes whole experiments), and curing or preparing materials and composites.

Mass spectrometers, one of the principal instruments for investigating chemical composition, operate by separating ions according to their mass/charge ratio by transmitting them through a magnetic and electrical field.

Experimentation in microtiter plates exemplifies the two dominating trends in the life sciences: higher throughput and smaller sample size. Microplate handlers are the robotic glue that connects microplate readers, liquid dispensers, plate storage systems, plate washers, and other equipment essential for microplate-based research and development.

Glove boxes are enclosed, controlled-environment chambers that serve as isolation or containment spaces for laboratory work. Most glove boxes operate in isolation mode, under positive pressure, to protect samples or experiments from the environment.

Automated liquid handlers (ALHs) are one of the truly enabling technologies of modern life sciences, particularly in medical testing, biological research, and high high-throughput screening.

Power supplies provide steady, precisely controlled electrical energy to electronic equipment.

Rotary evaporators have for decades been staples in labs and industries performing chemistry, including labs in the chemical, environmental, materials, life science and forensics industries