Electrode Extravaganza: pH Electrodes Measure Up to Their Potential

Date: April 13, 1998pH Electrodes from 10 Companies (PDF Format) Did you know it is possible to measure the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of almost any substance today? You name it--buffers, sludge, meat, or mud--companies are designing electrodes to tackle what may seem like the strangest of tasks. And yet, for the most part, electrodes today appear strikingly similar to electrodes manufactured years ago. So what has changed? "Electrodes themselves are pretty much unchanged," remarks Peter

Written byShane Beck
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Did you know it is possible to measure the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of almost any substance today? You name it--buffers, sludge, meat, or mud--companies are designing electrodes to tackle what may seem like the strangest of tasks. And yet, for the most part, electrodes today appear strikingly similar to electrodes manufactured years ago.

So what has changed? "Electrodes themselves are pretty much unchanged," remarks Peter Hail of Hanna Instruments. "What have changed are the applications and systems; the instruments behind them have changed." While makers of electrodes still optimize and fine-tune pH electrodes, in general, the design of the electrodes and their methods of measurement have remained relatively stable. Hail contends the meters backing the electrodes are becoming more integrated and smaller. After taking a look at what's on the market, it becomes obvious that, indeed, although hundreds of ...

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