Abstract: A scientific instrument emulator is disclosed and comprises a computer (1) including a memory (3) and at least two processors (2,9). An analogue I/O module (6) is configured within the computer (1) and connects via a bus (11) thereby permitting conversion of analogue signals into digital signals for processing by the processors (9). The module (6) permits connection to monitoring and/or sampling devices such as transducers which permit analysis and recording of physical phenomena. The emulator is programmable via a library of processing functions stored in the memory (3) to adapt the processors (9) to emulate the operation of a plurality of scientific instruments thereby permitting display of monitored events on a VDU (10) in real-time and/or storage of data relating to the events in the memory (3). Data can also be recorded in analogue format using one or more tape recoders connectable to the module (6).