Industries that deal with powdered materials, such as the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries, must control the size of the powder's grains. HORIBA's LA/CAPA measures the sizes of particles and their distribution ratios in a given material by analyzing the way laser light is scattered by the material. More specifically, this instrument can measure particles ranging from 0.02 µm to 2000 µm (2 mm) and calculate their individual distribution ratios in the subject material. This is much like using the same scale to measure both ants and buildings. Although often used to analyze ceramic powders, the LA/CAPA has myriad other uses. For example, when the particles of milk and other soft drinks are controlled in µm order, the texture can be manipulated to increase the enjoyability of the product. Likewise, the size of powder particles used for cosmetics affect their adherence to the skin and covering ability. The granularity of inks, paints for automobiles, and other coloring agents are also checked to control their color and gloss. Once a customer asked us whether this LA could measure the size of the bubbles generated by the superconducting propulsion unit of a ship.