Hi everyone, I've got a few questions about the dustduino.
Does the dustduino only show 'how much' particulate matter there is in the air? Or does it also show what makes up the particulate matter? Will, for example, dead skin show up in the sensor, as 'particulate matter'?
Where does one buy a 'dustduino'? I'm not massively competent at making relatively complex machines, so can I buy one ready-made, and have it sent to me?
I'm doing research (medical anthropology research) on a place which has high concentrations of particulate matter in the air. However, this pollution is not thought to come primarily from cars, so I don't need a sensor which only tests for CO and NO2. The sorts of elements that have been found to be in the air so far, are: Al, As, Ba, Br, Ca, Cd, Ce, Cl, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Pr, Rb, S, Sr, Zn. So, does anyone have any ideas as to what type of sensor might be useful?
Hi - @donblair wrote up a great overview of how particulate air sensing works, here: http://publiclab.org/notes/donblair/05-03-2014/how-do-we-measure-particulate-stuff-in-the-air - but as I understand it, particulate sensing is almost always just particle size and count, without trying to identify what particles are.
@mathew wrote a great overview of lots of different ways that different projects/sensors measure particulates: http://publiclab.org/notes/mathew/05-05-2015/evaluating-low-cost-optical-dust-sensors
And I've been working with him on running a whole batch of them at the same time, to compare: http://publiclab.org/notes/mathew/06-01-2015/plan-for-recording-shinyei-optical-sensors-using-open-pipe-kit
I think it may be hard to measure specific elements in the air - especially at very low concentrations. I don't know much about it, sorry!
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