High end scales from Ohaus help solve crimes in forensics laboratories on popular TV dramas CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spin-offs CSI: Miami and CSI: New York
On CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spin-offs CSI: Miami and CSI: New York, teams of criminalists work to solve crimes using forensic science.
While the shows capture audiences with their sleek, intelligent and dramatic storylines, they have also made science - and science equipment - trendy and glamorous.
According to Nielsen Media Research, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: Miami are two of the top five shows on US television, with the original CSI having held the number one position for much of the last year.
While viewers closely follow crime timelines and the inevitable drama of the Emmy Award-winning CSI shows, what especially captures their interest is the mysterious world of forensic science - the testing and processing of the evidence collected by criminalists at crime scenes.
The lab equipment - including analytical scales from Ohaus - takes centre stage, along with chemical compositions, blood samples and fingerprinting.
Within a few short years of the original show's debut, two additional CSI shows followed.
Criminal justice programmes across the USA experienced a record boom in student applications, something many refer to as 'the CSI effect'.
Analytical scales, such as Ohaus's Explorer Pro and Adventurer Pro, are commonly used by forensic scientists to meticulously measure dry chemicals, allowing scientists to create reproducible batches of reagents; the scales' accuracy allows forensic scientists to adhere to strict laboratory protocols.
The television CSI labs are extraordinarily equipped with the most sophisticated laboratory and science equipment - and lots of it.
"We have a bigger variety of equipment than any lab I know of in LA County," said CSI technical advisor Rich Catalani in a May 2003 Chicago Sun-Times interview.
"Every technical advisor comes on the set and says, 'I want to work in this lab".
Headquartered in Pine Brook, New Jersey, Ohaus manufactures an extensive line of high-precision electronic and mechanical balances and scales that meet the demands of virtually any weighing need.
