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Asked by anon-258108 to Fatma on 9 Jul 2020.
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Fatma Salahioglu answered on 9 Jul 2020:
It turns out that the most difficult things to identify are black coloured particles! Because of their colour, they absorb all light and don’t give out anything, so the spectroscopic techniques that rely on light passing through or interacting with the particle don’t give you much information!
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Comments
Rachael commented on :
I have worked with something called “municipal solid waste” which is processed household waste and contains remnants of all the disgusting things from your household bin! They were some very smelly samples to work with!
Julie commented on :
I was asked to look at a pothole in the road. The edges to be precise, but the object was the size of a rucksack and the microscope they needed to use could only look at a piece around 1 cm in diameter.
Alex commented on :
Great Q – can I take the slant of the most difficult being the most dangerous? Sometime the most difficult things I’ve worked with are those that seem the most innocent or least dangerous. Sounds the wrong way round but over time that’s what you realise. With chemicals, fuels, radioactivity enzymes, oils, microbes and so on – you always have levels of protection and I will always try to work as safely as possible with them. Avoid short cuts or quick fixes – that’s when things go wrong and accidents happen. With the least dangerous you can become complacent and have the most problems with.
Water is the one for the most spills and can do some serious damage especially if it goes near electricity or a phone! That’s the chemical I have found the most difficult. In other terms it can cause havoc in the wrong place especially sensitive scientific equipment and through condensation etc. It can also be the one that gives the most fun.
Always stay safe in your career. If something feels wrong its easy to stop and double check. You only have one set of eyes, one set of hands etc – so protect them – always. Have a great career