The invention, development, and triumph of the flame ionization detector

Today, there is practically no gas chromatograph without a flame ionization detector. Besides the use of partition as the basis of separation and the open-tubular columns, it can be considered as the third most important invention in gas chromatography (GC). Most GC users take the flame ionization detector for granted, and very few are aware of its origin and the background behind its invention. This month's Milestones in Chromatography deals with this subject: the reasons that led to its invention, the development of the flame ionization detector, and its rapid triumph in becoming the universal detector in GC.