What is Mass Spectrometry?
Not what you're looking for?
Mass spectrometry (MS) makes use of the motion of ions in electric and magnetic fields in order to sort them according to their mass-to-charge ratios. Thus, MS is an analytic technique by which chemical substances are identified by the sorting of gaseous ions in electric and magnetic fields. The instruments used in these studies operate on the principle that moving ions may be deflected by electric and magnetic fields. A device that performs this operation and uses electrical means to detect the sorted ions is called a mass spectrometer.
MS provides qualitative and quantitative information about the atomic and molecular composition of inorganic and organic materials. From HiQ.com.
Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary
The solution discusses what is mass spectrometry in 425 words in the solution.
Solution Preview
To answer this posting I will have to tell you what mass spectrometry is in laymans terms first.
Mass spectrometry is a technique where one can analyze the molecular mass of a compound directly. Say you have made a compound X and wanted to be sure that it was what you thought it was, you could analyze the molecular mass of the compound, compare it with the molecular mass that you believe it should be (adding up the elemental masses from the periodic table) and identifying (characterizing) your compound.
There are several different types of MS that are discussed, and ...
Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Functional groups in Organic Chemistry
You will be tested on the names of functional groups in Organic Chemistry. It is very important to know the functional groups to understand Organic reactions.
General Chemistry - Classification of Matter
This test will assess your knowledge on the classification of matter which includes elements, compounds and mixtures.
Thermochemistry
The quiz helps in revising basic concepts about thermochemistry.
Organic Chemistry Naming: Alkanes
This is a quiz which is designed to assist students with learning the nomenclature used to identify organic compounds. This quiz focuses on the organic compounds called Alkanes.