This piece of lab equipment was brought into our office the other day for some modifications. Can you guess what it is?
Who ever guesses correctly first gets one of our coveted 4c notebooks. Guess in the comment section below.
HINT: Nobody at Moredun is allowed to guess!
some kind of hand cranked vacuum pump?
Is it: NemESys-Nematode Parasite Extraction Machine
Good guess but but not quite right. CLUE: you screw down to create positive pressure.
Haha Jonathon… somebody has been doing their research. I am afraid you aren’t correct but you are close, this machine is related to the Nematode
Looks like a tesla coil to me…
for mashing worms to make ‘worm wine’…?
Is it used to create negative pressure manually? For suction purposes or or just to create conditions inside which are closer to vacuum?
Keith, the answer is neither. It is used to create a slight positive pressure inside, although it isn’t fully sealed. Haha its getting very cryptic now
A positive-pressure pump?
Is it a fancy attachment for an industrial watering can, used to keep produce pest free?… or going on the clues a container for keeping animal vaccines in a ready to use state?
It looks a bit like Thunderbird 3 (before Jeff Tracey invested in a wind tunnel)
I think if someone were to combine everyone’s guesses they would have it…
is it a pressure container for mixing beneficial namatodes?
‘to provide a more effective method of keeping nematodes cool, while at the same time uniformly dispersing nematodes throughout the solution’?
To give better pest control… on thunderbird 3?
Everybody is so close now, but I think we could be guessing the specifics forever. The first person to guess what it produces is the winner! Only 1 guess each.
OK last guess: is it a ‘Pressure Bomb’ a portable unit for measuring the stem water potential of plants that can also be used to check nematode levels in a field?
Afraid not Steve
is it a machine which purifies parasitic material?
This material can then be converted to vaccine for sheep and possibly other livestock?
Congratulations Drew, you win!
The lab equipment is for a process called chromatography . As we understand it the equipment is used by removing the threaded plunger piece and filling it with a special gel. The top plunger is then put into place and the gel placed under a slight compression. Then the resultant matter from the NemESys machine is is pumped through the gel, filtering out the vaccine material.
Well Done Drew we will be in contact to post you a 4c notebook