The Chaos of Science

I took some pictures today at work that I thought I would share with the group. These are pictures of the instrument that I'm helping to upload (install) and make ready for our two field studies. It's the 4-channel chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) that can measure a whole suite of gas-phase molecules and radicals that I described in a previous post (Time flies when you're busy.) It's pretty crazy to look at, and we've garnered more than a few comments from the other investigators along the lines of "they're actually going to let you fly that?" The "they" in question are the crew in charge of all things aviation. And the answer, miraculously (and by a small degree of history), is yes.

The interior pictures are of the CIMS instrument, both from the aft of the rack, and the front. Yes, all those lines are actually necessary. The one with the keyboard on the floor is the aft picture, and there will be two seats put in tomorrow morning. The seats go in and out depending on what the guys in the rack behind us need to do. There are also a couple pictures of the exterior, showing the pylons that cover our inlets. Mine (and my boss's) is the one that doesn't look like a bazooka. They're all designed not to interfere with each other. The ones that face forward are designed to smooth out the flow, while at the same time being 10 degrees off axis so that any liquid water in the air will collide with the sides and not enter the inlets.