Abstract
Having reviewed general conditions and various difficulties of routine measurement and control of tobacco humidity, the authors present a new periodic-automatical principle which they developed for the determination of the moisture content of tobacco. Tobacco specimens continuously taken from the conveyor by an automatic sampler are tested by the principle of conductibility with constant pressure and time values. A velocity of 5 to 9 measurements per minute can easily be achieved. The measuring process is controlled by electronic programming. The results are recorded as deviation from a desired value by a registering instrument giving preferably also an account of the time of sampling. The said value to be fixed at choice represents a given electric resistance which is adjusted to the desired humidity value, to the temperature at the measuring point and to the specific properties of the respective tobacco mixture. Supplementary appliances for the automatic indication of ranges, the direct registering of figures and the storage of results can be incorporated with the apparatus presented. It is also possible to take parallel measurements of temperature and to compensate for its influence on the measuring results.