accelerator mass spectrometry
Physics
noun
Mass spectrometry in which a particle accelerator is used for separating different isotopes, typically used in the carbon dating of small samples; abbreviated AMS.
- This technique is suitable for the carbon dating of small samples as it allows the number of atoms of different isotopes of carbon to be counted directly, instead of their ratio having to be inferred from the (very low) level of radioactivity of the sample..
Origin
1980s; earliest use found in Nature: a weekly journal of science.
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