Types of Labs and Their Uses
Controlled experiments and many analyses mostly take place in laboratory environments, specialized for specific experiments in specific fields. The existence of these laboratories have greatly helped humans, scientifically, technologically and as a species, develop, grow and foster more knowledge. With the increased reliance on many fields of study on labs, there’s been the growth of many sub-types of laboratories customised to handle and carry out practical activities and experiments pertaining to a single specialized field. The general types of labs are listed below for your top-of-the-surface reference:
- Science Labs
- Maths Labs
- Medical Labs
- Film Labs
- Computer Labs
- Public Health Labs
- Industrial Labs
- Language Labs
- Crime Labs
It is important for you to note that some of these are just umbrella terms for the several other labs that come under them for specific subjects and fields of study.
The ‘Science Labs’ Umbrella
Science Labs is an umbrella term for all the different subfields that are under it. This ranged right from biology labs to microbiology labs to chemistry and physics labs. The science labs themselves all generally have a few common equipment and supplies. These include equipment such as Bunsen burners, microscopes, spectrophotometers, calorimeters to even operant conditioning chambers.
Life Sciences and Molecular Biology laboratories also come under this umbrella and use equipment such as autoclaves, thermal cyclers, photometers, bioreactors, and humidifiers. However, these are There are of course, under science labs, labs specialized based on the scale of the study and experiments to be carried as for example, traditionally experiments in the chemistry labs are usually carried out on a macro-scale. When quantities of materials of around 0.005-0.5 gram ranges are used, micro-scale techniques need to be employed and the equipment of the same are usually covered under micro-scale labs. Reaction flasks, condensers, recrystallization tubes and distillation heads all ranging from 2mL to 5 mL are usually used in these micro-scale labs.
Portable Labs
A portable lab often contains a range of equipment, supplies, sometimes even complete systems and instruments that can be easily moved from place-to-place. This allows for easy study and experimentation on a perhaps, smaller level. You can call a portable lab as a ‘transportable’ or ‘mobile’ unit.
Portable labs can even be observation labs as compared to the usual experimental labs. If you are a researcher or a person in need of experimenting, but can’t contain your study to one geographical location alone, portable labs are the thing for you. Many companies provide portable labs specialized for different researchers such as Noldus Information Technology that provides for human-computer interaction.
Some of these portable labs may even involve equipment of materials that can be digitally transferred.
With advancement in technology, the mobile mathematics laboratory has become increasingly accessible to the masses and researchers through mobile apps. The mobile mathematics laboratory is an innovation that has changed how students learn and perceive mathematics as a subject as well.
Conclusion:
Micro-laboratories and portable laboratories have to change the field and with the requirement of easy access to data and equipment, research and development face immense growth as well. If you are an up and coming learner, eager to experiment and observe, but can’t seem to locate a laboratory for your needs, with some digging around, you are sure to find portable ones that you can take with you wherever the purpose serves.
