ASSIGNMENT NO 1

UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI

KNOWING ELECTRONICS FOR ANALYTICAL

CHEMISTRY GRADUATES

PREPARED BY PREPARED TO
NADIA NAHEED

DATED 11 OCTOBER 2010

IMPORTANCE OF CHEMISTRY

Chemistry is at the core of every technology we enjoy today. The power of the chemical
sciences is what they create as a whole: an enabling infrastructure that delivers the
foods, fuels, medicines, and materials that are the hallmarks of modern life.

The contributions of chemical scientists and engineers are central to technological

progress and the health of many industries, including the chemical, pharmaceutical,
electronics, agriculture, automobile, and aerospace sectors, and these contributions
create new jobs, boost economic growth, and improve our health and standard of living.

Analytical Chemistry, one of the major branches of modern chemistry. It is subdivided

into two main areas, qualitative and quantitative analysis. The former concerns the
determination of the relative amounts of such constituents. Analyses involves 50
different techniques, including: radioactive activation and tracers; methods depending
upon electrons, ions, X rays, and ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation; electrical;
magnetic, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectra; thermal; chromatographic;
distillation and extraction; and kinetic methods.

Chemistry in Electronics:
Electronics have wide applications in analytical chemistry. As all analysis is based on
instruments which are directly based on electricity so in order to perform any analysis
we should know the basic knowledge about that instrument.
If the instrument is not working properly so at least we should have knowledge about
different parts of instrument which help us to communicate the particular disorder.
Today’s systems for data storage – floppy disks, CD-ROMs, tape, and the – two-
dimensional. Scientists are developing a light-activated chemical switch potentially
usable in three-dimensional data storage systems that could multiply the amount of
memory a computer can have by a thousand-fold or more. The switch is made by
dissolving a light-absorbing compound in a liquid crystal. The dissolved compound is
designed to change, in a reversible way, the liquid crystal’s optical properties. Such a
switch could be used in making a storage system in which information could be written
and later erased as needed. The advantage of using light for three-dimensional data
storage systems is that, unlike electric current, beams of light can cross each other
without producing a shot circuit.

While attempting to study the superconductivity (lack of resistance to the flow of electric
current) of films of yttrium and lanthanum hydrides in the presence of high-pressure,
low-temperature hydrogen, researchers discovered that the film lost its metallic sheen
ad became a transparent insulator. This effect also occurred at room temperature and
lower pressure. Such a switchable mirror could be useful for solar cells, electronic
switches, optical sensors, and energy-efficient windows.

Chemists have developed a new process for laying down miniature patterns on surfaces
– a technique that could be useful in making computer chips and replacements for
optical fibers. The key to the process is a small rubber-like mold marked with tiny
grooves. This is laid groove-side-down on a flat base. A drop of liquid is placed on the
base next to one edge of the mold. A force called capillary action sucks the drop of
liquid into the channels formed between the base and the mold. Through crystallization,
reaction with the base material, or some other method, the fluid generates a solid
material. The mold is then removed, leaving a polymer, ceramic, or metal pattern on the
base. The scale of the pattern is on the order of a micron. (A micron is one-millionth of a
meter; it would take more than 25,000 microns to make an inch).