Chromatography and movies

[Ron]

If I remember correctly, the GC in "My Cousin Vinny was a Hewlett Packard 5740 with dual packed columns and dual flame analysis detectors. It was used to analyze the rubber from a car tire. Not my first choice for this analysis.

[zokitano]

If I remember correctly, the GC in "My Cousin Vinny was a Hewlett Packard 5740 with dual packed columns and dual flame analysis detectors. It was used to analyze the rubber from a car tire. Not my first choice for this analysis.

Well Ron, you're partially right. The GC Expert used HP 5710A GC with dual columns and flame "analysis" detectors. Look for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjEjjnw2 ... re=related
in the time interval (of the clip) 2:00-2:15

or look in here:

http://www.hpmuseum.net/video/WebMyCous ... -16sec.wmv

Best regards

[JGK]

Me Personally, Im in the market for a fully functional Tricorder, anybody know who sell them?

A few in our labs would make life a lot easier

[Ron]

I've heard getting the di-lithium crystals to power the Tricorder can be a real pain.

[THNDRacket]

I don't remember if this is the first such device I saw a couple years ago, but they are well under way to a tricorder:
http://www.ahurascientific.com/chemical ... /index.php

Disclaimer: not affiliated with the company in any way, just thought the technology was interesing. And a very a propos name for the company as well.

[Fabiano]

Just now I saw this topic...

The Medicine Man wasn't just a movie for me:
http://thecolorwriter.blogspot.com/2009 ... de-me.html

BTW, comments are welcome!

[Victor]

There was a Perkin-Elmer Sigma 3 GC in the movie ET.

I don't think it actually did anything, but it was just sitting there making the laboratory look scientific. I've forgotten the part of the movie-but wasn't ET captured and the lab boys were trying to work out what made him/her tick?

[Paladin]

Yep. In My Cousin Vinny, not only the results are mentioned but IIRC, the make, model and intrument features are mentioned as well.

[WK]

Hi
I remember watching a 1980s US documentary once where Bob Finnigan (Finnigan MAT??) was talking about his development of the benchtop MS attached to GC. I think someone in a forensic lab approached him with the idea in the late 60s I guess.
Very interesting at the time but can't remember much of it now.
Changing the subject slightly - how about lab personnel stereotypes?
Who was in the lab in Men In Black - Linda Fiorentina - she wasn't your typical mortuary attendent! I know it was comedy. Doc from Back To The Future?
However Beaker and Bunsen Honeydew are way too real!!!
WK