At the 5th American Engineering Foundation Conference on Automated Cytology in Pensacola (Florida) in 1976 - eight years after the introduction of the first fluorescence-based flow cytometer (1968) - it was agreed to commonly use the name "flow cytometry", a term that quickly became popular. Modern flow cytometers are able to analyze many thousands of particles per second, in "real time" and, if configured as cell sorters, can actively separate and isolate particles with specified optical properties at similar rates. A flow cytometer is similar to a microscope, except that, instead of producing an image of the cell, flow cytometry offers high-throughput, automated quantification of specified optical parameters on a cell-by-cell basis. To analyze solid tissues, a single-cell suspension must first be prepared. A flow cytometer has five main components: a flow cell, a measuring system, a detector, an amplification system, and a computer for analysis of the signals. The flow cell has a liquid stream (sheath fluid), which carries and aligns the cells so that they pass single file through the light beam for sensing. The measuring system commonly uses measurement of impedance (or conductivity) and optical systems - lamps (mercury, xenon); high-power water-cooled lasers (argon, krypton, dye laser); low-power air-cooled lasers (argon (488 nm), red-HeNe (633 nm), green-HeNe, HeCd (UV)); diode lasers (blue, green, red, violet) resulting in light signals. The detector and analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) system converts analog measurements of forward-scattered light (FSC) and side-scattered light (SSC) as well as dye-specific fluorescence signals into digital signals that can be processed by a computer. The amplification system can be linear or logarithmic. The process of collecting data from samples using the flow cytometer is termed 'acquisition'. Acquisition is mediated by a computer physically connected to the flow cytometer, and the software which handles the digital interface with the cytometer. The software is capable of adjusting parameters (e.g., voltage, compensation) for the sample being tested, and also assists in displaying initial sample information while acquiring sample data to ensure that parameters are set correctly. Early flow cytometers were, in general, experimental devices, but technological advances have enabled widespread applications for use in a variety of both clinical and research purposes.