• Question: whats the coolest peice of equipment you have used?

    Asked by anon-225581 to Simon, Selen, Paul, Nawapat, Natalie, Katy on 14 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Natalie Fowler

      Natalie Fowler answered on 14 Nov 2019:

      I get to use very cool machines that help to beat peoples hearts and help them breathe. My favourite equipment is called a Haemofilter and draws blood out of a patient, cleans it and outs it back to try to help the kidneys when they are failing.

    • Photo: Paul Laurance-Young

      Paul Laurance-Young answered on 14 Nov 2019: last edited 14 Nov 2019 10:20 pm

      So many toys, so little time. I must admit to liking my pipette – I can fire the tips into the bin from 2m away on a good day..
      Seriously though, my absolute favourite piece of equipment is a scanning electron microscope with focussed ion beam: it’s an electron microscope with a miniature Death Star inside, that can blow holes in literally ANYTHING… and then look inside!

    • Photo: Nawapat Kaweeyanun

      Nawapat Kaweeyanun answered on 17 Nov 2019:

      I have used lasers to create a hologram, which is a realistic 3D image of an object made out of light! The hologram machine has a lot of mirrors and we have to place them at just the right spots to make my image.

    • Photo: Katy Bruce

      Katy Bruce answered on 18 Nov 2019:

      Hmmm that’s a tough one, so many! My favourites are:
      ESDA (electrostatic detection apparatus) – a corona discharge wand is used to charge the surface of a piece of paper and then special film is stretched over the top. Tiny silica beads coated with toner are sprinkled over the top to reveal the hidden indentations, which would have been created by someone writing on another piece of paper laid on top and subsequently removed.
      ESLA (electrostatic lifting apparatus) – a piece of special metallic film is applied to a surface (e.g. the floor) and an electric current is passed over it. The charged film surface causes dust particles to stick to it so that when it is lifted and viewed under oblique (angled) lighting, footwear marks can be seen!
      Magnaflake – a magnetic “wand” is dipped into finely ground iron powder, which has been coated with amino acids, and then brushed over non-porous surfaces to reveal latent fingermarks. The amino acids have an affinity for the sweat and sebum (grease) in the fingermark, so the marks appear as if by magic!
      And of course my beloved Raman spectrometer…

      P.S. Paul – that’s quite an achievement! 😉

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