science

Techtron

Techtron is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Techtron rather than just read about it. In short: Techtron Appliances was an Australian electronics manufacturer established in 1938 by Mr Geoffrey S.V. Frew.

Key takeaways

Techtron belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Techtron to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Techtron from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Techtron Appliances was an Australian electronics manufacturer established in 1938 by Mr Geoffrey S.V. Frew. It manufactured electronic equipment to order in North Melbourne, Australia. The name was derived from the words 'Technical' and 'Electronic'.

History After the second world war, Mr Frew manufactured a range of scientific equipment from his home in Brighton. In 1954, Techtron moved to small cottages in Market St. South Melbourne, and in 1957, won a tender to build electronics modules for Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers (AAS) to CSIRO specifications. Mr Frew worked closely with Alan Walsh, the originator and developer of the atomic absorption method of chemical analysis. By 1962 Techtron had supplied about of these 40 kits, and took a manufacturing license from CSIRO to manufacture complete AAS instruments using imported Carl Zeiss AG monochromators, with electronics and other components made locally. In 1964 Techtron produced the first all-Australian AA instrument, the Techtron AA3, and presented it at the 1964 Pittsburgh Conference in the United States of America. In August 1965, Techtron Appliances Pty Ltd merged with Atomic Spectral Lamps Pty Ltd to form Techtron Pty Ltd

1967 – Continued growth forced a move to Springvale Rd, Mulgrave, Australia. In October 1967, Techtron Pty Ltd merged with Varian Associates, an American company based at Palo Alto, California. This merger brought great strengths to Techtron in the way of manufacturing techniques, financial support, and perhaps most importantly, a worldwide distribution network for its products. The company now became known as Varian Techtron Pty. Limited. In 1970, Geoffrey Frew donated a substantial sum to the Australian Academy of Science 'in recognition of the successful commercial development of atomic absorption spectrochemical analysis, which had been originated by Dr A. Walsh of the CSIRO Division of Chemical Physics in 1954'. The Geoffrey Frew Fellowships enable distinguished scientists from abroad to travel to Australia to participate in the Australian Spectroscopy Conferences and to visit scientific centres around the country. Recipients have included Nobel Laureates A.L. Schawlow, G. Porter, G. Herzberg, C. Cohen-Tannoudji and J. Polanyi. In 1971 the company developed a range of UV-Visible spectrophotometers which complemented its range of AA instruments and allowed the company access into a new market segment. A totally new micro-computerised range of these UV-Visible instruments was given a worldwide release in the United States in March 1980 A major tribute was paid to Varian Techtron in 1982 with the decision by Varian Associates to transfer the complete Cary UV-Visible product line down to Australia. Cary had long been known as the 'Rolls-Royce' of UV-Visible spectrophotometers and now the total responsibility for the manufacture, marketing and future development of these products lay with the Australian company. In 1990 some 450 people were employed at the Melbourne plant. 1991 – Varian, Inc. was formed to take over the scientific instruments, vacuum products and electronics manufacturing businesses of Varian Associates, Inc. Varian Australia Pty Ltd became a subsidiary of Varian, Inc. 2009 - In November 2009 Agilent Technologies Inc. acquire Varian, Inc. for US$1.5 billion. The Mulgrave site continues to be profitable and grows slightly as they absorb the Agilent sales staff from the Burwood site. The Agilent Network Testing group (Burwood site) is sold off to LA based company Ixia.

References

External links Agilent Technologies, Inc Archived 2020-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Agilent Technologies Australia Pty Ltd Varian, Inc. Varian, Inc. Australia

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Techtron

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Techtron claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Techtron before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Techtron ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Techtron

In research: Techtron appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Techtron in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Techtron is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Instrument-making corporations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Techtron outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Techtron in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Techtron means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Techtron out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Techtron in simple terms?

Techtron Appliances was an Australian electronics manufacturer established in 1938 by Mr Geoffrey S.V. Frew.

Why does Techtron matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Techtron?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Techtron.