an analytical instrument in which ions, produced from a sample, are separated by electric or magnetic fields according to their ratios of charge to mass. A record is produced (mass spectrum) of the types of ion present and their relative amounts
mass spectrometer in American English
noun
Physics
a device for identifying the kinds of particles present in a given substance: the particles are ionized and beamed through an electromagnetic field and the manner in which they are deflected is indicative of their mass and, thus, their identity
Word origin
[1930–35]This word is first recorded in the period 1930–35. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: boondoggle, cloverleaf, old school tie, preset, uncertainty principle
Examples of 'mass spectrometer' in a sentence
mass spectrometer
The scientists tracked the plume using a mass spectrometer that could instantly detect certain petroleum hydrocarbons, but the complete chemical structure is still being investigated.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The scientists used a laser that heats up molecules so that their signatures can be read by a mass spectrometer.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Next door is an 85,000 gas chromatograph mass spectrometer that vaporises a fragment of paint into a state that separates the different elements it contains.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This is placed in a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, which fragments the moleculesin the sample and identifies them according to their mass-to-charge ratio.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I had a well-equipped lab investigating the effects of gravity on the lung using state-of-the-art respiratory mass spectrometer, analog signal processing with offline digital analysis.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The next step is to link the gas chromatograph to a mass spectrometer, which bombards the separated compounds with a beam of electrons.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This enabled measurements by mass spectrometer to determine the rate at which carbon moved through the ecosystem.
The Scientist (2001)
For this work, he developed new methods for analysing very small samples using a mass spectrometer.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Mass spectrometers analyse the air in the polytunnels before the sheep eat and the fug afterwards when they have digested their food.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
An alternative to buying gases in cylinders, these are used in labs with mass spectrometers and other precision equipment.