As you know, driving or working under the influence of alcohol is a serious offense. Also, it is an irresponsible thing to do. When you drink and drive or operate machinery, you risk your life and the lives of others. Breathalysers are useful gadgets to have. First, it helps save lives, prevent fines, and eliminates the guesswork. These are three types of breathalyzers on the market.
Electrochemical Fuel Cell Analyzers
This type of breathalyzer uses electric currents to detect alcohol levels in your breath sample. It has two electrodes with the cell, one made of platinum and gold, and that is where the breath sample is oxidized. When there is a lot of alcohol, a lot of electrons get produced by the reaction. The digital screen displays the electric current. The good thing about fuel cells is that they are small and need minimal power to work. Thus, they are suitable for portable devices. Also, the result is not influenced by contaminants, such as carbon monoxide, toluene, or acetone.
Infrared Optical Sensor Analyzer
Ideally, it is an infrared spectrometer that identifies the chemicals within the sample and measures how the molecules absorb the infrared light. Ethanol molecules get to absorb infrared radiation. When you drink a lot of alcohol, they will absorb more radiation. The photocell produces the electrical pulse that varies according to the amount of wavelength that has been absorbed. In this case, the microprocessor does match the electrical pulse with a BAC level and offer a reading.
The good thing about this test is that it is accurate and does not get confused by the mouth alcohol. Since they are accurate, they are used in court and can work for many years. The only limitation is that they are not portable.
Semiconductor Analyzers
In this case, the breathalyzers have a semiconductor that generates a small electrical current. When the alcohol gets to the semiconductor, it changes the current and alters its resistivity. The higher the change, the more the alcohol there is in a sample. Results may be variable and quite sensitive to the altitude and climate. The good thing about these breathalyzers is that they are cheap to produce and can be used as personal breathalyzers.
Before you purchase any breathalyzer, it is vital to understand how it works. First, when you take alcohol, it gets into the bloodstream. When you breathe out, a small amount of it is expelled with air. Therefore, the more alcohol you have in the system, there more of it will be in the breath.