IR spectroscopy of cigarette smoke

IR spectroscopy of cigarette smoke In this experiment the constituents of cigarette smoke in undisclosed brands A and B were analysed using Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The smoke from the cigarettes of both brands were tested comparing both the levels of carbon monoxide and methane between both brands and the difference in concentration of these constituents in both the filtered and unfiltered of each of the cigarette brands. The results of this study showed that brand B filtered smoke had less carbon monoxide than brand B unfiltered smoke as well Brand A cigarette smoke which seemed to have relatively the same amount of carbon monoxide in both unfiltered smoke as well as having considerably more carbon monoxide than brand B. Introduction Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy is a form of IR spectroscopy which is most commonly referred to as FTIR spectroscopy and is used in analysis of the molecular constituents in a sample that is being processed. Infra red radiation is passed through the sample which hits some of the molecular constituents in the sample which either absorbs the energy or is transmitted back while some radiation completely misses the molecules altogether. This then shows the presence of a substance with absorption peaks which are consistent with frequencies of vibrations between the bonds and the atoms that make up the substance as the data is collected and processed. The amount of the particular constituents can also be picked up using the size of each peak on the display. [4] Infrared Spectroscopy has been used extensively over the past few years as a means of getting accurate data of samples that are being analysed for their chemical constituents. This software has the ability to recognise every single chemical constituent in a sample that has passed through a spectrometer which is held together by chemical bond, however this means that this particular method also has its limitations as it cannot process monoatomic gases as the atoms in the gas do not form a chemical bonds with each other given that IR spectrometer measures the vibrational energies of the bond lengths it will not show up on the final spectra. IR spectroscopy has further limitations which involve the speed of the processing of the data where each was processed separately; Ft-IR spectroscopy was developed to address this problem by collecting all the frequencies simultaneously. This was achieved by adding a new device to the original IR spectrometer which is known as interferometer. This device is responsible for taking the signal picked by the IR radiation and converting it into a new signal which is now encoded. This process again is very quick as it is measured to an order of one second. [4] Unfortunately this signal cannot be interpreted until it is converted once more by the Inferogram, this is accomplished by a mathematical technique known as Fourier Transformation which is performed by the software which then displays the spectra. Experimental Before the experiment was carried out the FTIR machine was calibrated according to the measurement of the wavenumber to ensure the accuracy of each trial that was carried out. This was done by using trace expansions where the band centres were estimated to be within ~0.1 cm-1 which is about a tenth of the resolution. [2] Prior to the actual measurements were taken a background spectra was taken with a full cell of air as a control for the experiment. Once this had been done at least three times to ensure accurate data the vacuum line was connected to the cell by the quick fit adapter. The process was commenced by ensuring all five taps on the pump were closed and turned all the way round, clockwise. Then glass wool was packed into the pipette bulb with care using tweezers to make a cigarette holder. The cigarette was inserted into the holder and the pump was switched on. Both taps one and two were opened (see figure 1). The chosen cigarette for that particular trial was then lit, (for unfiltered cigarettes both Cigarettes brands A and B filters were cut off with a pair of scissors). Tap three was then slowly turned so that it was only slightly opened for just one second which allowed air to flow through the machine and therefore causing the cigarette to burn much more energetically. To ensure that as much sample that could be obtained from the smoke was made possible, a boiling tube was placed over the burning cigarette to collect the smoke that was given off from the burning cigarette butt which is then trapped in the gas cell ready for analysis. Taps 1 was then closed and tap 2 was opened to allow cigarette smoke to pass into the gas cell. Tap 2 was then closed followed straight after that by tap 1. The cigarette was then stubbed out the cell was detached from the vacuum line. Once the sample was analysed by the FT-IR Spectrometer the gas cell was evacuated by being placed in a dessicator. The gas line was also evacuated by turning off the tap for the pump and then venting the gas by turning taps 1 and 4. [2] This procedure was carried out four times to test both filtered and unfiltered brands A and B to obtain 1275 spectra for each trial. Filtered Cigarette smoke A in (cm-1): CO (1985, 2325), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) [5][7] Unfiltered Cigarette smoke A in (cm-1): CO (2150, 2200), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) [5][7] Filtered Cigarette smoke B in (cm-1): CO (2150, 2200), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) Unfiltered Cigarette smoke B in (cm-1): CO (2150, 2200), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) [5][7] Discussion and Conclusion It seems that the overall data that was produced shows that filtered cigarette B smoke was the most harmless cigarette smoke in comparison to its unfiltered counterpart and both the filtered and unfiltered brand A cigarette smoke as it had the lowest levels of carbon monoxide. Even though there were very small errors in the analysis of the data there are still limitations with FT-IR spectrometer such as the large stretches of water which strongly absorbs infra red radiation over other molecules and also the difficulty of pin pointing exactly what each of the chemicals were according to the complex stretches that were displayed on the spectra produced. However the overall advantages are the speed at which the trials are run as all the frequencies are measured simultaneously rather than separately. The FT-IR is also self calibrating therefore so not have to be constantly calibrated by the user ensuring controlled data. [4] The Spectrometer also does not require a vacuum as the IR radiations is not absorbed by either oxygen or nitrogen.This is why this particular form of analysis is used worldwide in analysis of subastances as IR radiation can be absorbed in all three phases (Solid, Liquid and Gaseous states) therefore making it an accurate and versatile method. Acknowledgements My heartfelt gratitude extends to Sam Finlayanson, Lewis Alan Edwards5 for allowing me to use their spectra as part of my results so that I am able to write a complete analysis on the experiment. I would also like to thank Mr Douglas Hamilton for his helpful advice and kind support while carrying out the analysis on pgopher and finally the staff of Bristol Chem labs. References Intra-puff CO and CO2 measurements of cigarettes with iron oxide cigarette paper using quantum cascade laser spectroscopy, Danielle R.Crawforda, Milton E. Parrisha, Diane L. Geea and Charles N. Harward DLM manual Diagram produced on paint by Miss Abira Sri Satkunasingham Thermo Nicolet pamphlet : Introduction to Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry Sam Finlayanson, Lewis Alan Edwards: spectra Abira Sri Satkunasingham: experiment calculations and results (spectra) NIST Web book ( for identifying the stretches) Formation and Analysis of Carbon Monoxide in Cigarette Mainstream and Sidestream Smoke Adams, J.D., Hoffman, D. Wynder, E. Determination of Particle-Size Distribution and Concentration of Cigarette Smoke by a Light-Scattering Method TAKASHI OKADA AND KAZUKO MATSUNUMA Central Research Institute, Japan Monopoly Corporation, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227, Japan Puff-by-puff and intrapuff analysis of cigarette smoke using infrared spectroscopy by Milton E. Parrish, Jim L. Lyons-Hart and Kenneth H. Shafer THE HITRAN MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPIC DATABASE AND HAWKS (HITRAN ATMOSPHERIC WORKSTATION): 1996 EDITION Fundamentals of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy By Brian C. Smith

The Myth of the Earnings Yield :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

The Myth of the Earnings Yield Essay written by Sam Vaknin Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites A very slim minority of firms distribute dividends. This truism has revolutionary implications. In the absence of dividends, the foundation of most - if not all - of the financial theories we employ in order to determine the value of shares, is falsified. These theories rely on a few implicit and explicit assumptions: (a) That the (fundamental) "value" of a share is closely correlated (or even equal to) its market (stock exchange or transaction) price (b) That price movements (and volatility) are mostly random, though correlated to the (fundamental) "value" of the share (will always converge to that "value" in the long term) (c) That this fundamental "value" responds to and reflects new information efficiently (old information is fully incorporated in it) Investors are supposed to discount the stream of all future income from the share (using one of a myriad of possible rates - all hotly disputed). Only dividends constitute meaningful income and since few companies engage in the distribution of dividends, theoreticians were forced to deal with "expected" dividends rather than "paid out" ones. The best gauge of expected dividends is earnings. The higher the earnings - the more likely and the higher the dividends. Even retained earnings can be regarded as deferred dividends. Retained earnings are re-invested, the investments generate earnings and, again, the likelihood and expected size of the dividends increase. Thus, earnings - though not yet distributed - were misleadingly translated to a rate of return, a yield - using the earnings yield and other measures. It is as though these earnings WERE distributed and created a RETURN - in other words, an income - to the investor. The reason for the perpetuation of this misnomer is that, according to all current theories of finance, in the absence of dividends - shares are worthless. If an investor is never likely to receive income from his holdings - then his holdings are worthless. Capital gains - the other form of income from shareholding - is also driven by earnings but it does not feature in financial equations. Yet, these theories and equations stand in stark contrast to market realities. People do not buy shares because they expect to receive a stream of future income in the form of dividends.

Learning Styles Essay

* Did your personality spectrum profile surprise you? Why or why not? I was and was not surprised on what the results of my personality spectrum were, I have always been aware that I’m an organizer. What surprise me is that organizer is my strongest personality; I would have thought that adventurer would have been my strongest. But after reading the description of the organizer is, it all makes sense and I see why it is my strongest personality. Although adventurer is my second strongest personality, I get a relief to know that adventurer was not too away from being my strongest personality. * How can you alter your study techniques to take advantage of your particular abilities and skills as determined by the personality spectrum? Now that I know what my strongest personality is, I plan on keeping it that way and staying organized. I believe that staying organized would help me through my journey in school and in my future career, especially in the career field I chose to be in, organization is very important. Also by staying organized I will be avoiding all the stress and headaches that I will probably encounter in school and in my future career. By keeping to the results of my personality spectrum, I believe I will be taking full advantage of my abilities. * How can knowing your skills and abilities indicate on the personality spectrum help you adapt your study habits? Knowing that my skills and abilities indicate that I’m an organizer, I will be able to use that skill and better prepare myself to adapt to my study habits. By staying organized and preparing in advance, I will be able to manage my school schedule and personal schedule more efficiently and in terms I will be avoiding all unwanted stress. * How would you approach collaborative work in the future given what you now understand about your skill and abilities from the personality spectrum? The way I would approach collaborative work in the future will be, by advising our group to implement a work schedule. By having implemented a work schedule I believe that it will allow us to stay organized. By being prepared and effectively using my organizational abilities and skills will allow us to accomplish our intended goal of getting our work completed on time.

Hearing Lips And Seeing Voices By Harry Mcgurk - 1499 Words

Multi-sensory integration is a process in which sensory input from one sense organ interacts with and influences how other sense organs process this same input, and how these inputs combine to produce a cohesive and unified perceptual experience (Talsma, Senkowski, Soto-Faraco, and Woldorff, 2010). A prime example of multi-sensory integration is the process of speech perception which combines auditory and visual inputs to form a cohesive and comprehensive speech percept (Nath and Beauchamp, 2012). In their 1976 article ‘Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices’, Harry McGurk and John MacDonald described a perceptual phenomenon they referred to as ‘the McGurk effect’ (McGurk and MacDonald, 1976). The McGurk effect is an audiovisual illusion that is†¦show more content†¦These McGurk and MacDonald studies were the first to demonstrate that visual stimuli can modify speech perception when it is presented simultaneously with incongruent auditory stimuli. These fin dings contested the traditional assumption that speech perception in face-to-face conversation was a unimodal, rather than multi-sensory process, that is, a strictly auditory process that was independent of visual input (McGurk and MacDonald, 1976; Rouger, Fraysse, Degunie and Barone, 2007; MacDonald and McGurk, 1978). Although McGurk and McDonald provided valuable insight into the role of visual processes in speech perception, their initial studies did have some limitations, for example, their manner-place hypothesis failed to provide a comprehensive theory of the cognitive processes involved in producing the McGurk effect. They also failed to measure their participant’s lipreading performances prior to conducting their study and thus, this potential confounding variable was not taken into consideration. Furthermore, McGurk and MacDonald failed to explain why up to one third of their participants did not experience the McGurk effect at all. Since these original McGurk effect studies, there has been some debate between theorists and researchers,Show MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesOrganizational Culture for Me? 512 glOBalization! Face Culture, Dignity Culture, and Organizational Culture 515 Myth or Science? â€Å"Employees Treat Customers the Same Way the Organization Treats Them† 518 An Ethical Choice Designing a Culture of Ethical Voice 526 xviii CONTENTS S A L Self-Assessment Library How Spiritual Am I? 531 Point/Counterpoint Organizations Should Strive to Create a Positive Organizational Culture 534 Questions for Review 535 Experiential Exercise Rate Your Classroom