In this issue, you will also learn something of the history of Danish medieval stone churches in northern and western Jutland! “Danish geology icon Arne Noe-Nygaard picks up on an 800 years old sampling and invents the Replication Experiment: PAT in disguise” is firmly rooted in the Theory of Sampling but you will also learn some geology and history!

This is the second part of an interview with John Hollerton, the first part in is the last issue! John recently retired from a long career at GSK and we took this opportunity to have a chat with him, as Mohan Cashyap and our beloved editor Ian Michael both have had the opportunity to work with John on projects and on the LISMS conference (Linking and Interpreting Spectra through Molecular Structures). Here, we move the discussion on to technologies and innovation, the great, the over-hyped and the effectively lost to the modern analytical laboratory.

Experience from the realm of scientific conferences around the world reveals that many authors and presenters are unconsciously often shifting between the term error and the term uncertainty without a clear vision of what is the subtle difference between them. The same applies to a large swath of the scientific literature, in which these two concepts are often used synonymously-a scientific flaw of the first order. There is always a difference, regardless of how small, signifying a non-zero difference between the true, unknown content a_L of a lot L and the estimated (analysed) content of a sample hereof, a_S. Is this difference an error or an uncertainty? Many practitioners will call it an error. This estimate of the lot concentration per force has to be made based on the minute (hopefully representative) analytical aliquot. As is well-known within the sampling community it is all about how to be able to secure a documentable representative analytical sample “from-lot-to-aliquot” upon which to carry out valid analysis.

The authors have developed the “GlowFlow” mass spectrometry source design based on an Argon flowing glow-discharge that can be retrofitted to existing instrumentation and ionise compounds at atmospheric pressure which are less amenable to ESI.

Kim Esbensen has enlisted the support of another doyen of representative sampling, Pentti Minkkinen. In the commercial world, the reason for analysis comes down to money: whether ensuring you are getting what you paid for, but not providing more than necessary, or in regulatory compliance and the avoidance of fines. Kim’s Column has been pushing the importance of not overlooking the sampling step since its beginnings, and this edition provides clear examples where the consequences are costly; very costly.

Roman concrete is well known and has lasted well. Now, it seems that the Egyptians used concrete to build at least some of their pyramids. Guy Demortier reports that PIGE and PIXE analyses have revealed the presence of carbon clusters in the material used to build the Khufu (Great) pyramid at Giza. This fits with a model of construction in which the blocks were cast in situ rather than cut out of stone and somehow moved into place. There’s always something new to be learnt!