A mass spectrometer ionizes a sample, accelerates the resulting ions through electric and magnetic fields, and sorts them by their mass to charge ratio, producing a spectrum that reveals what elements or molecules a sample contains and in what proportions. J.J. Thomson built an early version around 1912 to study positively charged particles, and his student Francis Aston refined it into the modern mass spectrograph by 1919, precise enough to discover that many elements exist as a mixture of isotopes of slightly different mass, work for which Aston received the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Invented YearSourced to the subject's own account MeasuresSourced to the subject's own accountThe mass-to-charge ratio of ions. 1 Operating PrincipleSourced to the subject's own accountA sample is ionized, and the ions are separated by mass-to-charge ratio as they are accelerated through electric or magnetic fields, with a detector recording the abundance of each ion type to produce a spectrum. 1 ResolutionSourced to the subject's own accountResolving power varies sharply by analyzer type, from about 1,000 for a quadrupole analyzer to roughly 1 million, and over 2.7 million at mass-to-charge ratio near 400, for Fourier-transform mass spectrometry. 1 Operating RangeSourced to the subject's own accountNo single universal mass range applies across analyzer types; electrospray ionization instruments are cited measuring proteins around 200,000 daltons at mass-to-charge values of 600 to 2000. 1 Classification
Instrument ClassSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Invented By
Refined Thomson's device into the mass spectrograph in 1919 and won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for it.
Source Mass Spectrometry (Wikipedia)
Built an early positive ray apparatus around 1912 to 13 that sorted charged particles by mass, producing the first mass spectra; his student Francis Aston later refined the device into the modern mass spectrograph.
Source Mass Spectrometry (Wikipedia)
Used In
Source Mass Spectrometry (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Mass Spectrometry (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead section
used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions
Components section
ions are separated according to their mass-to-charge ratio
Analyzers comparison table
resolution >2.7 million at m/z ~ 400
Ionization techniques section
peaks at m/z = 600-2000 for proteins with a molecular weight ~200,000 Da
Lede, instrument class
A mass spectrometer ionizes a sample, accelerates the resulting ions through electric and magnetic fields, and sorts them by their mass to charge ratio, producing a spectrum that reveals what elements or molecules a sample contains and in what proportions.
- Used In: Chemistry
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