Solving mysteries has always fascinated human beings. We love mystery novels and crime dramas because we want to deduce who the culprit is. In real life, advances in science also deal with deducing a mystery. Instead of private investigators, processes like chromatography frequently solve real-world mysteries.

Chromatography is a process that helps scientists, law enforcement, and even schools and companies identify the composition of a particular sample. Basically, scientists need a way to separate organic from inorganic compounds. The word itself means "color writing" and the method was developed in the initial part of the twentieth century. But since the 1950's, chromatography has rapidly developed as an important tool for the tricky job of analyzing materials and samples of unknown mixtures.

Although quite a few different laboratory techniques fall under the general heading of chromatography, they all share the common process of separating mixtures. A solvent carries the mixture to be evaluated through some kind of stationary material. As the mixture passes through the material, the analyte-the substance that needs to be identified-is separated and can be identified.

There are several different classes of this process that have a wide range of uses. Liquid Chromatography can be used to test water for pollution levels, while Gas Chromatography is used to test materials as diverse as fibers or determine the presence of bombs at an airport. Thin-layer Chromatography provides a speedy way to determine if foods contain insecticides or pesticides. Although these examples are all very different, the process is the same. A mixture is broken down, and using other chemicals and processes, unknown elements in the mixture are identified.

Chromatography is a good tool that we have developed to answer vital questions involving health and public safety. Through the use of controlled chemical interactions and reactions, chromatography helps us get to the bottom of things.