Training via the web: a virtual instrument

Using readily available software to capture screens from a gas chromatograp h-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) while setting up and running actual experiments , we have developed a virtual GC-MS mounted on the World Wide Web to train students in instrument operation. This resource enables students to use any computer by which they have access to the Internet to learn how to run the instrument. The students learn to operate the virtual instrument using thi s program outside the laboratory, thus freeing the instrument for use withi n the laboratory periods to run meaningful experiments and collect data. Th e virtual instrument has proved popular with students and faculty at both, the undergraduate and graduate levels for its realism and usefulness. (C) 2 000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.