Particle Counting

In a simple term, particle counting is to count the number of particles with some physical characteristics in a unit volume of liquid or air. The most common parameter of particles associated with counting is size. The result is either the total number of particles within the chosen lower and upper size boundaries or a particle size distribution with absolute count at each size bin.

Particle counting is important in many industries, both as a quality control means and as a research tool. For example, for water used in microelectronics, in oil applications or in water treatment process, number of particles at a certain size range cannot be more than a certain value.

The most popular method to count particles dispersed in liquid is the Coulter Principle. Its applications in counting biomedical and industrial particles in the past fifty years have produced more than 8000 publications and numerous international and national standards around the world.