A clean room can be defined by many people as a space that is orderly or free of clutter. That is where you want pieces of furniture to be arranged in order, and people should not have a hard time walking around because there are no obstacles or random stuff on the floor. Getting to this state is something that you can do as a chore.
A cleanroom, meanwhile, is a highly sterilized area that is used mainly for sensitive and precision manufacturing processes. Take note of the lack of space in its name to differentiate itself from the other more common term. Cleanliness procedures are strict here, as a speck of dust could contaminate the products made here, and that could spell a disaster. That is a place like no other, and here are the elements that make it unique.
The Floor
The cleanroom needs to be a speck-free environment, and that can only be achieved by using materials that do not attract dust and little particles. You should also be able to wipe that clean without leaving any residue. That can be a challenge since foundations are usually constructed using porous stuff like wood and concrete. Using tiles can also pose a challenge in cleaning since the gaps could degrade and produce dust.
A concrete floor can be easily built since you do not have to worry about the shape of the area. All you have to do is pour the mixture in and wait for it to dry and harden. You will then have a floor that can withstand thousands of steps in a day without cracking. The game-changer here would be the finishing process. Since it has a porous surface, you have to pour something over it to make it glossy and waterproof. You can use a urethane cement sealer to do that job. Just lay down a thick coat on the whole area, and you should have a suitable floor to use once all of that dries up.
The Suits
You can take a bath as often as you want, but that does not negate the fact that you shed dead skin particles and hair all over the place. You also sweat out of your pores, and your head could make rain made out of dandruff. Add all of these up, and you have a formula for those who are not allowed inside a cleanroom. If that is the case, that means everyone.
People are required to wear sterilized full-body suits before they enter the cleanroom. That is to ensure that any particles that come from their bodies are contained and not spread in the area. Just the simple act of coming in and out of the room is a process in itself. That goes to show the level of detail and discipline needed for those who work here.
Air Flow
For particles to stay out of the cleanroom, there should be a constant movement of filtered air. That can be done in two ways. You can do it using a turbulent airflow pattern. It pushes filtered air downwards and in all horizontal directions, with the goal of letting dirty air accumulate below and then pushed out to the vents that are placed near the floor level. The other pattern is called the laminar airflow. Unlike the turbulent design, this uniformly pushes down the air. That keeps dust and particles close to the floor and then pushed out more slowly using reactionary force.
Examples of Cleanrooms
Cleanrooms are used by companies that manufacture precision or chemical products. For the former, one such example is the hard drive. It is used as secondary storage for many computers. It looks like its days are numbered because of the steady rise of people using solid-state drives or SSDs. A hard drive uses a stack of magnetic platters to store data, and this has to be assembled in an environment that is dust-free. The moving parts inside are complex and delicate. If a small particle drops somehow forces its way inside it, that could result in a failed construction of the device. When that touches the platter, you can pretty much render it useless. Even touching the surface would result in data loss.
Working with chemicals also shares the same level of granular detail that people should not overlook. Mixtures can get contaminated when foreign particles get in them, not to mention the unknown repercussions when that results in an ugly chemical reaction. These are also measured accurately, and that can be thrown off by the smallest particle.
A cleanroom is a place reserved for particular purposes. It is a space meant for some skilled professionals to work in. Just look at its elements, and you can learn a lot about the sciences around them.
