Invented in the late 16th century, the microscope is arguably the oldest laboratory instrument. Yet despite its maturity, microscopy continues to evolve toward greater capabilities.

Low-temperature laboratory freezers are cooling boxes that achieve temperatures of about -40° C or lower. Kitchen freezers, by contrast, operate to about -20° C.

The advent of inexpensive, powerful, personal computers has been a boon for chromatography data systems.

Gas chromatography (GC) has long been the backbone of organic chemical analysis.

HPLC has expanded its scope significantly into chemistry, pharmaceuticals, forensics, and organic chemical analysis.

Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), an absorbance-based analytical technique, measures and identifies chemicals that absorb in the contiguous ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Among the hyphenated mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, gas chromatography-MS (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography- MS (LC-MS) are the most notable. These methods combine the resolving power of high-resolution chromatography with the specificity and sensitivity of MS.

Raman spectroscopy is based on the interaction of visible, near-infrared, or near-ultraviolet light on chemical bonds. When excited with light energy, bonds experience short-lived, higher-energy vibrational states.

Atomic absorption (AA) has been known since the 19th century, but it was not until the 1950s, thanks to efforts by Alan Walsh at Australias CSIRO research center, that use of AA spectrometers became routine for metals analysis.

This article looks at the evolution of the laboratory glassware washer; a staple in most labs.