Judy Howle asked for the name of equipment used for capsaicin measurement and forwarded a set of questions from someone wanting to help their child with a science fair project. Simple high performance liquid chromatographs can probably be purchased between $5,000 and $10,000 US. Add on the proportioning pumps for gradient elution and ovens for column attemperation and the price goes up. I would bet one so equipped with a data system and decent detectors may run as high as $25,000 US. (Peanuts to a truly dedicated Chile-Head. ;-) ) The solvent system does use acetonitrile which is somewhat toxic and hazardous. The Chile-Heads home-page does have a complete, well-written summary of one basic HPLC method. (Thanks Mike B., for putting it there - I owe you one!) Seriously speaking, HPLC is probably out of the reach of most science fair candidates unless they know someone in a lab with spare time available on the instrument. (Good lu-u-uck!) As for ASTM E-1083-88 the poster is "sure it involves scientific equipment and procedures more complicated that what is available in the home." Maybe not in the home, but some secondary schools should have balances capable of weighing the amounts called out. They also would have a set of volumetric flasks for the dilutions. Any glassware the school may have used for lead or any other toxics should not be used, but then the school should have supply catalogs and a connection with a supply house to get new, clean, glassware that can be dedicated for use with food in short order. Any heating can be done carefully on the stove, but the school should have a hotplate, too. The vanillyl n-nonamide standard is a different story since it burns like capsaicin, so you have to handle it carefully. I think Sigma sells it for what would seem like a prince's ransom for the quantity you get. Long story short, the science fair project could involve something simple as just checking people's responses to peppers and see how closely they agree in rating them. Compare results when using the standard to not using the standard. No expensive "toys" needed, the results would be interesting and the experience of setting up a experiments and (in particular) using human subjects would be valuable lessons. George Nelson