ICP-MS training
I am such a geek because I find this to be a really awesome experience, even if I am dead tired:
So I spent the first three workdays of this week in an ICP-MS (Inductivey Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) training session. On Monday and Tuesday mornings we had PowerPoint lectures (boring!) and the rest of the time was spent in the lab learning how to use the computer interface, run samples, and take apart/repair/put back together the $20,000 instrument. So as of 5pm yesterday, I had taken apart the front half of the ICP-MS two times and successively put it back together again--exciting! However, it's also kind of nerve-wracking because I'm pretty sure I'll wind up being the main caretaker of the instrument and I also have to train the rest of my research group. **bites nails**
In case you're interested, here's a picture of the exact same instrument from someone else's lab. The little oval dark spot is where the plasma lights--an amazing green flame!
In other news, I used the digital voice recorder my parents gave me for my birthday to tape one of my classes this morning, and it worked perfectly! I'm already half-way through listening to the recording and can't believe how much I've added to my notes already. I must be a really bad note-taker; I find it hard to write what he's writing on the board and get down everything he's saying at the same time. Hopefully this will help me on our next test.
So I spent the first three workdays of this week in an ICP-MS (Inductivey Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) training session. On Monday and Tuesday mornings we had PowerPoint lectures (boring!) and the rest of the time was spent in the lab learning how to use the computer interface, run samples, and take apart/repair/put back together the $20,000 instrument. So as of 5pm yesterday, I had taken apart the front half of the ICP-MS two times and successively put it back together again--exciting! However, it's also kind of nerve-wracking because I'm pretty sure I'll wind up being the main caretaker of the instrument and I also have to train the rest of my research group. **bites nails**
In case you're interested, here's a picture of the exact same instrument from someone else's lab. The little oval dark spot is where the plasma lights--an amazing green flame!
In other news, I used the digital voice recorder my parents gave me for my birthday to tape one of my classes this morning, and it worked perfectly! I'm already half-way through listening to the recording and can't believe how much I've added to my notes already. I must be a really bad note-taker; I find it hard to write what he's writing on the board and get down everything he's saying at the same time. Hopefully this will help me on our next test.