Celestial Spheres, Nominal 10.0µm Polystyrene Spheres

EMS Catalog #79500-05

US Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standard
Standard Reference Material 1960

The NBS Office of Standard Reference Materials announces the availability of a new SRM for use as a primary particle size standard. SMR 1960 is intended for use with particle size measuring instruments including electron microscopes.

Center Distance Finding (CDF), an optical technique related to array sizing, measured the numbers average particle diameter in air. The size distribution of the polystyrene spheres, as determined by DCF, is a narrow Gaussian distribution with a standard deviation of 0.9% (excluding particles with diameters not on the main peak). The number of undersized particles is negligible and the number of oversized particles is less than 1%.

Lehigh University and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) developed the technology necessary to produce these latex particles during the shuttle mission in 1982 and 1983. The 10-micron particles in SRM 1960 were manufactured in space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger during the NASA STS-6 mission, April 4-9, 1983. The particles were provided by NBS by NASA for certification as a Standard Reference Material for the scientific and technical communities.

The certification of this SRM was performed with the support of the ASTM-NBS Research Associate Program.

Online Ordering

Celestial Spheres, Nominal 10.0µm Polystyrene Spheres are available in suspension or uncoated and dispersed on a silicon disc online from the EMS Catalog. For ordering or product information, click here.