MULTI-STEP COULOSTATIC IMPULSE GENERATOR AND POTENTIAL MONITORING SYSTEM

• Main Author: Coenen, Lance Gregory, 1959-
• Language: en_US
• Published: The University of Arizona. 1987
• Subjects: Electrochemical sensors > Design and construction.; Plants > Absorption of water > Measurement.; Plant-water relationships > Measurement.
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/276529

A Coulostatic Impulse Generator (CIG) is an electronic device that transfers electrical charge to and from a pair of electrodes inserted in plant tissue. Six discrete charge transfers can be implemented in any desired sequence. The major purpose of the CIG is to determine the electrochemical constituents of the plant apoplast electrolyte. The objective of this thesis is threefold: (1) to design, construct and test the supervisory circuitry of the CIG, (2) to design, construct and test the interface between the NEC portable computer and the CIG, (3) to generate utility software to control each circuit board in the system. To handle the extreme difference in the timing of the charge transfer (microseconds) and the subsequent plant response a three step timing sequence is employed which permits an independent range of sample times and sample numbers. Data acquired is first stored in RAM in the computer within the CIG and then transferred to the external computer. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)