Chemical reaction velocity measuring apparatus

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of a chemical reaction by detecting the changes in light absorbance of samples in which said reaction is taking place, said apparatus comprising:

• a. means for generating a first light beam of a wavelength (.lambda..sub.1) and a second light beam of a wavelength (.lambda..sub.2) alternately;
• b. means for holding said samples in a line so that the samples are spaced by a predetermined distance;
• c. means for directing said two light beams along one light beam path;
• d. means for intermittently moving said holding means in one direction across first and second portions of the light path at the same time,
• said moving means producing alternately at each resting state a first condition in which a new sample is in said first portion of the light path and a spaced portion of said holding means between two samples already exposed to said light beam in the first portion thereof is in said second portion, and a second condition in which a new portion of the holding means between two samples is in said first portion and a sample already exposed to said light beam in the first portion thereof is in said second portion.
• each sample exposed to the light beam in said first portion becoming exposed to the beam in said second portion after lapse of a constant time interval,
• e. means for detecting alternately at each resting state a first signal corresponding to the light absorbance of each sample when said each sample and spaced portion are exposed to said first light beam, and a second signal corresponding to the light absorbance when said each sample and each spaced portion are exposed to said second light beam,
• f. a first signal subtraction device connected with said detecting means to produce a differential signal between said each first and second signals at each resting state;
• g. a signal memory device connected to said first subtraction device to memorize first differential signals which are produced from said subtraction device in said first condition, said memory device being capable of storing a given number of the first differential signals in sequence and for successively reading out the earliest applied signal as each new signal is applied thereto, and
• h. a second subtraction device connected with the first subtraction device to receive second differential signals which are produced from said first subtraction device in said second condition and connected with said memory to produce a differential signal between each first differential signal and each second differential signal corresponding to the change in light absorbance of each sample at said time interval.