ABSTRACT
The objective of mass spectrometry is to separate a sample into its constituent parts, such as atoms or molecules, on the basis of their mass. This allows us to investigate the relative proportions of different molecular, elemental or isotopic species in a sample, whether graphically as a mass spectrum (Fig. 8.1), or numerically as ratios of different masses. The parts of a highly simplified mass spectrometer are illustrated in Box 8.1. All mass spectrometers possess three essential components:
ion source;
mass analyser;
ion collector.
