mass spectrograph

n. An instrument used to determine the masses of atoms or molecules, in which a beam of charged particles is passed through an electromagnetic field that separates particles of different masses. The resulting distribution or spectrum of masses is recorded on a photographic plate.

mass spectrography n.

mass spectrograph

n (General Physics) a mass spectrometer that produces a photographic record of the mass spectrum

Thesaurus

Noun

mass spectrograph - a mass spectrometer that produces a graphical representation of the mass spectrummass spectrometer, spectrometer - spectroscope for obtaining a mass spectrum by deflecting ions into a thin slit and measuring the ion current with an electrometer

mass spectrograph

mass spectrograph,

device used to separate electrically charged particles according to their masses; a form of the instrument known as a mass spectrometer is often used to measure the masses of isotopesisotope
, in chemistry and physics, one of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but differing in atomic weight and mass number. The concept of isotope was introduced by F.
..... Click the link for more information. of elements. J. J. Thomson and F. W. Aston showed (c.1900) that magnetic and electric fields can be used to deflect streams of charged particles traveling in a vacuum, and that the degree of bending depends on the masses and electric charges of the particles. In the mass spectrograph the particles, in the form of ions, pass through deflecting fields (produced by carefully designed magnetic pole pieces and electrodes) and are detected by photographic plates. The beam of ions first passes through a velocity selector, consisting of a combination of electric and magnetic fields that eliminates all particles except those of a given velocity. The remaining ion beam then enters an evacuated chamber where a magnetic field bends it into a semicircular path ending at the photographic plate. The radius of this path depends upon the mass of the particles (all other factors, such as velocity and charge, being equal). Thus, if in the original stream isotopes of various masses are present, the position of the blackened spots on the plate makes possible a calculation of the isotope masses. The mass spectrograph is widely used in chemical analysis and in the detection of impurities.

mass spectrograph

[′mas ′spek·trə‚graf] (engineering) A mass spectroscope in which the ions fall on a photographic plate which after development shows the distribution of particle masses.

mass spectrograph

mass spec·tro·graph

an instrument that subjects charged and accelerated ions (atomic or molecular) to a magnetic field that imparts a curved path that differs for each mass-to-charge ratio, thus separating individual species; used in detecting and assaying isotopic ratios and in molecular structure determinations.

mass spectrograph

A device that separates ions of different masses by employing a magnetic field to deflect them as they travel along a given path.See also: spectrograph

mass spectrograph

mass spectrograph

mass spectrograph

mass spectrograph

mass spectrograph,

mass spectrograph

mass spectrograph

mass spec·tro·graph

mass spectrograph

mass spectrograph

Words related to mass spectrograph

noun a mass spectrometer that produces a graphical representation of the mass spectrum

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