Aethalometer Sample Data
AE-20 Application: Measurement of Tobacco Smoke
This page contains charts showing the response of the Model AE-20 Aethalometer to tobacco smoke. The first two charts from a test chamber compare the UVPM channel response with the results of 'standard' tobacco smoke quantitation methods, namely gravimetric mass and UV-spectrometric absorbance. However, both of these standard methods are laborious and time-consuming, and require the collection of filter samples over fairly long periods of time. The second two charts of real-time AE-20 Aethalometer data show results that would be impossible to obtain by conventional means. The first of these shows a set of first-order decay curves tracking the dissipation of UV signal (i.e. tobacco smoke tracer) in a small unventilated room, from 10 to 180 minutes after cigarette smoking. This allows for calculation of the dispersal and depositional loss of ETS aerosol. The second chart shows a time series of measurements in the same office: smoking was only permitted at certain hours, but fresh vehicle exhaust is also seen.
