mass spectrometer
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.
Origin of mass spectrometer
1Words Nearby mass spectrometer
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use mass spectrometer in a sentence
Since it was founded, Ginkgo has spent nearly half a billion dollars, much of it building labs equipped with robots, gene sequencers and sophisticated lab instruments such as mass spectrometers.
Is Ginkgo’s synthetic-biology story worth $15 billion? | Antonio Regalado | August 24, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewMarine detectives analyze samples of suspected spills through a mass spectrometer, a relatively old technology that can identify the types of molecules in a sample by blasting it through heat and magnets.
Decoding Marine Oil Spills Requires Slick Detective Work | MacKenzie Elmer | July 6, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoThe probe will carry a mass spectrometer, which can measure the mass of different molecules in a sample.
NASA Is Returning to Venus, Where It’s 470°C. Will We Find Life When We Get There? | Gail Iles | June 9, 2021 | Singularity HubHe crushed the rest and concentrated the tungsten, then analyzed the tungsten isotope ratios in a mass spectrometer.
Scientists Pin Down When Earth’s Crust Cracked, Then Came to Life | Howard Lee | March 25, 2021 | Quanta MagazineThe researchers ground the meteorites to powder, then heated the powder in a special furnace hooked up to a mass spectrometer that can detect trace amounts of different gases.
Crushed space rocks hint at exoplanets’ early atmospheric makeup | Lisa Grossman | January 26, 2021 | Science News
British Dictionary definitions for mass spectrometer
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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