An Apparatus for Nebulizing Liquids.

The apparatus described below was designed† especially for the atomization of human sera. It was employed by the Commission on Influenza during studies concerning the prophylactic effects of the inhalation of convalescent human sera against experimental influenza infections in man. 1 Because of its excellent efficiency in providing a large output of nebulized liquid a detailed account of its construction seems worth while. The nebulizing unit (Fig. 1) consists of a container and a metal atomizer. The container may be made either of metal or glass and be of any size or shape. That shown in Fig. 1 was designed to hold a large amount of liquid (500 cc). It was made by fusing an outlet of 22 mm glass tubing into the bottom of a short-necked, round-bottom, pyrex flask of one liter capacity. The atomizer is constructed of chromed brass tubing. Fig. 2 (3 sectional views) shows various aspects of its design. It consists of a single inlet tube (Fig. 2-a) 6 inches long with a 3/16 inch inside diameter which communicates with a “U” shaped head or nozzle, made of tubing of similar size. The base (Fig. 2-b) of the nozzle is one inch wide and the stems (Fig. 2-c) one inch each in length. The stems are closed at their ends and on their side walls directly opposed discharge orifices (Fig. 2-d) slightly less than 1/16 inch in diameter are made. The orifices are made by soldering at right angles short pieces of 1/8 inch tubing (Fig. 2-e) into the walls of the nozzle stems to give a jet effect to the outgoing air.