Bowen's Kale was a

reference material Certified reference materials (CRMs) are 'controls' or standards used to check the quality and metrological traceability of products, to validate analytical measurement methods, or for the calibration of instruments. A certified reference materi ...

produced by British chemist

Humphry Bowen __NOTOC__ Humphry John Moule Bowen (22 June 1929 – 9 August 2001) was a British botanist and chemist. Bowen was born in Oxford, son of the chemist Edmund Bowen. He attended the Dragon School, gaining a scholarship to Rugby School and then ...

and used for the

calibration In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of know ...

of early

scientific instruments A scientific instrument is a device or tool used for scientific purposes, including the study of both natural phenomena and theoretical research. History Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, an ...

intended to measure

trace elements __NOTOC__ A trace element, also called minor element, is a chemical element whose concentration (or other measure of amount) is very low (a "trace amount"). They are classified into two groups: essential and non-essential. Essential trace elements ...

during the 1960s. With Peter Cawse, Bowen grew, dried, and crushed a large amount of marrow-stem

kale Kale (), or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head ...

(''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''medullosa'') into of a homogeneous and stable powder in 1960 that was subsequently freely distributed to researchers around the world for over two decades. This was probably the first successful example of such a ''de facto''

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

. Bowen's Kale stimulated preparation of further materials by other organizations for similar use.

References

Bibliography

* Bowen, H. J. M., A standard biological material for elementary analysis. In P. W. Sallis (ed.), ''Proc. of the SAC Conference'', Nottingham, UK, pp. 25–31. Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons, 1965. * Bowen, H. J. M., Kale as a reference material. In W. R. Wolf (ed.), ''Biological Reference Materials: Availability, uses and need for validation of nutrient measurement'', pp. 3–17.

John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...

, 1984. * Stoeppler, M., Wolf, W. R. and Jenks, P. J. (eds.), ''Reference Materials for Chemical Analysis: Certification, Availability and Proper Usage''. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2001. . (See pages 4, 26, 59 & 216.) 1960 introductions 1960 establishments in England Standards of the United Kingdom Elemental analysis History of chemistry {{Measurement-stub

See also

References

Bibliography