Ultimate Cascade Impactor

K.R. May is generally considered to be the father of the Cascade Impactor. This observation was richly demonstrated in the paper that he wrote at the end of his career, “A Personal Note on the History of the Cascade Impactor”. In it, he referrers to what he felt was his finest achievement, the “Ultimate Cascade Impactor”¹ The Impactor, pictured below was manufactured by Research Engineers Ltd. Of London, under the model designation M/RE. As the US distributor for Research Engineers, BGI accepted the task of preparing an instruction manual for the instrument. At the time, it seemed like an excellent opportunity to expand it into an operational primer applicable to all Cascade impactors.
The need for a text of this type is still as strong as ever and it is presented here in accessible format.
Because of the continued value of such a carefully designed instrument, we have had a spreadsheet created which simplifies data analysis.

1. The word “Ultimate”, when referring to the Cascade Impactor of that name is used in the sense of meaning the last or final. K.R. May was retiring and this was his final (ultimate) design.

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