Analytical techniques, very much like women's clothing styles, tend to go in and out of vogue. This, however, is where the similarity ends. Whereas women's styles are the result of the whims of the designers, analytical methods remain popular only as long as they can perform a particular measurement better, easier, and/or cheaper than a competitive approach. The ability of a technology to survive is thus dependent on state-of-the-art instrumentation and analytical procedures but is restrained by the inherent limitations of the method.
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