Specific problems using electronic particle counters
Kersting, K. (1985). Specific problems using electronic particle counters. Hydrobiol. Bull. 19(1): 5-12 In: Hydrobiological Bulletin. Netherlands Hydrobiological Society: Amsterdam. ISSN 0165-1404; e-ISSN 2214-708X, more |  |
| Keywords | Aquatic communities > Plankton > Phytoplankton
Aquatic communities > Plankton > Zooplankton
Equipment > Measuring devices
Ingestion
Marine/Coastal |
| Abstract | Some specific problems of electronic particle counters (Coulter Counter, Elzone) are discussed. Conductivity of the medium does not influence the size response of the instrument, but might change the size of the particles through osmotic stress. An important problem of electronic particle counters is count loss by coincidence of passage of particles through the orifice and caused by dead time of the instruments. Several correction equations were tried out. It turned out that the count losses were much higher than the ones predicted by the manufacturers. In instruments equipped with multi-channel size analysers dead time count loss is much more important than the count loss by coincidence. A maximal counting frequency of 200 counts/second is recommended for accurate work. The width of the size distribution of particles depended on the diameter of the aperture tube. |
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