Audio Tour

These new infrared spectrophotometers offered the same capabilities as many higher priced instruments plus features like the Beckman AccuSet™ Meter that makes running of spectra easy and virtually foolproof. All models had non-hygroscopic optics, continuous strip-chart recording, large cell compartments, and excellent microsample analysis without a beam condenser. Some models also feature ordinate scale expansion using an external recorder. A sliding-drawer-type “hot tray” is also available for storing such items as dies and attenuators.

Arnold Beckman’s Acidimeter, later named pH Meter, measured the acidity and alkalinity of lemon juice. The pH Meter represented the first direct application of electronics to chemical measurement and sparked a chemical revolution. Today, the Beckman pH Meter is used in monitoring water quality, soil, sewer, and waste disposal, food and beverage processing, and blood analysis. 87 pH meters were sold in the first year grossing $11,215.95. Approximately 350,000 Models E, F, and G pH meters sold over the next 50 years.

Another instrument in the exhibit is the prototype of the first insulin pump created by Los Angeles pediatrician Dr. Arnold Kadish in 1963. Dr. Kadish developed the pump for his daughter who had type I diabetes. Weighing about 10 pounds and the size of a large old-fashioned window fan, it is on display next to a modern device that would easily fit in the palm of a child’s hand.

Beckman Airfuge Ultracentrifuge: This compact, tabletop ultracentrifuge reached speeds of up to 110,000 rpm providing enhanced accuracy of patients tests results.

The CEQ 8000 capillary electrophoresis system, based on the same technology as the CEQ 1000 DNA sequencer released in 1996, performs a wide variety of DNA related tests in a much shorter time than previous systems.

Wallace Coulter invented a way to count and size particles using impedance measurements while working with the U.S. Navy to improve paint adherence to battleship hulls. The first automated blood cell counter based on the Coulter Principal was introduced in 1949. It could count and size blood cells at the rate of thousands per second providing greater speed, convenience and accuracy over the prevailing manual method using a microscope and hand counter.

Wallace Coulter discovered the Coulter Principle, a way to count and size particles, that formed the basis for automated counting of cells in blood which ultimately revolutionized the field of hematology.

The Coulter brothers sold their first counter-the Model A. This was the first commercial instrument based on the Coulter Principle, the most widely used method in the world for counting and sizing microscopic cells and particles.

Portable unit for use in lab or field. Available with rechargeable power supply for on-line and battery operation, or equipped for battery operation only. Ideal for measuring dissolved or gaseous oxygen and temperature and could be coupled with any 10 to 100 mv potentiometric recorder. Two new oxygen sensors for use with the Beckman Fieldlab™ Oxygen Analyzer are In Situ Submersible Sensors for dissolved oxygen studies in offshore waters and water treatment facilities and an all-purpose sensor for laboratory studies. Other sensors were available for any dissolved or gaseous oxygen application.

Beckman KliNa Flame Photometer: This instrument provided automated sampling, dilution and analysis of sodium and potassium or sodium and lithium with answers digitally displayed and printed.

Prior to having this instrument, clinicians had to perform time consuming tests on a patient’s blood sample. Using a novel enzyme rate sensing system, this analyzer could measure blood sugar levels on extremely small samples in one minute. It was a life saver because it quickly determined the treatment needed for patients in diabetic or insulin shock.

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) Analyzer: The Beckman BUN analyzer provided rapid, convenient and accurate measures of urea nitrogen in blood, where abnormal levels indicated kidney malfunction.

Helipot Corporation formed in 1943. The company developed a unique potentiometer that combined wide range with fine adjustments and trademarked it as the Helipot. Originally intended as replacement parts for instruments, the military used specially manufactured Helipots in the development of radar.

Ac-T Hematology Analyzer: Automated cell counters sample the blood, and quantify, classify, and describe cell populations using electrical techniques. The Coulter principle involves passing a dilute solution of the blood through an aperture across which an electrical current is flowing. The passage of cells through the current changes the impedance between the terminals. Impedance is the ratio of voltage to current in an alternating current field. Differences in cell volume and granularity allow automated counting of cells in blood.

The first commercial oxygen analyzer was used to help hospital staff accurately monitor oxygen levels in incubators to reduce the risk of blindness among premature infants. Caltech scientists developed technology for the Navy to measure the oxygen content of air in submarines. Dr. Beckman founded a separate company (Arnold O. Beckman, Inc.) to manufacture the first commercial analyzers for monitoring oxygen levels in incubators to reduce the risk of blindness among premature babies.

Avanti J-30I Centrifuge: The display model has a V-shaped cutaway that allows viewers to see the interior mechanics of the instrument that isolates and separates solid particles from fluids. The centrifuge was primarily used by hospital labs and blood banks to prepare blood samples for testing and by research labs to purify cells, proteins, and nucleic acids.

LS-100C: Low-cost, 100-sample, three-channel, serial-counting, automatic liquid scintillation system. It has full electronic computation and printout of counts-per-minute and 2 σ statistical counting error in all data channels. A time-proven lister printer automatically printed out data from any single or all three data channels. With the addition of the Direct Data Readout Module, the counting capacity was expanded to include the computation and printout of disintegrations per minute (dpm), quench corrected dpm, or fixed factor computations.

The LM-600 is a very versatile electronic balance, accepting numerous accessories: telecom computing architecture, density, particle size distribution, vacuum, below balance weighing for surface tension, and recording capabilities.

Model B: This model combines many of the advancements pioneered in the famous Beckman Quartz and Infrared Spectrophotometers. It featured direct reading absorbance and transmittance scales, complete elimination of stray light from 360 to 1000 millimicrons, interchangeable phototubes for wider wavelength range, inexpensive sample cells, and a 4-position cell carriage for faster readings.

Model DB-GT: Solid state electronics ensured stable operation of this spectrophotometer. All components, including a lamp power supply, were housed in a single compact instrument case. The DB-GT could be easily converted to a recording spectrophotometer by connecting it to a Beckman 10-inch laboratory recorder.

This revolutionary instrument marked the introduction of the first fully automated hematology analyzer. The seven-parameter system proved to be the “Coulter Star” of the 1970’s.

The first classic Model G pH meter was sold in 1938. Recommended for all types of precise pH measurements and oxidation-reduction reactions, this model was supplied in a hardwood case and contained a standard cell, electronic tubes and batteries, a glass-calomel electrode assembly, and a platinum electrode. Before discontinuing the line in the 1960’s, approximately 28,600 Models were sold.

The first Model M pH meter was sold in 1938. Recommended for portable plant and field use, combining laboratory accuracy with ruggedness and simplicity for factor applications. This model was supplied in a hardwood case and contained 5 inch shielded glass and calomel electrodes with 12 inch leads that could be used at a distance from the meter without risk of electrostatic interference.

This instrument synthesized as many as eight DNA molecules at the same time. It provided more options and flexibility than the original 1000 model released three years earlier.

Beckman and Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling were working independently on prototypes of an analyzer to measure the oxygen content of air in submarines. They wound up collaborating, and the first model bearing both their names was shipped in 1943. Their initial individual prototypes are on display.

High performance capillary electrophoresis is used to identify and measure the purity of samples by separating them into their component parts. The Beckman PACE 1000 was the first commercial capillary electrophoresis system.

In the 1940s, the military needed an instrument capable of measuring the pressure of oxygen in a mix of gases. Soldiers operating in low-oxygen environments—primarily airplanes and submarines—were sometimes affected by loss of consciousness and even death due to unchecked oxygen depletion. An oxygen meter would enable pilots and submariners to track oxygen levels within the cabin, allowing them to adjust for dangerous decreases.

Pocket pH Meter: The pocket-sized pH Meter was made possible by replacing the vacuum tubes and large batteries of previous pH Meters with automatic circuitry. The pocket pH Meter was used to check the pH levels swimming pools.

Century SS-1 pH Meter: This high-impedance millivoltmeter displays the values on a front panel.

Model 4500 Digital pH Meter: This digital version of the Beckman pH Meter is used for in-vitro diagnostic pH testing and other types of potentiometric measurements.

This tabletop ultracentrifuge was designed specifically for small-sample processing. Applications included rapid sample clarification, density gradient separations, isolation of plasmid DNA, molecular weight determinations, and binding studies.