Mass Spectrometer

Instrument used to measure the masses of molecules and atoms by volatilizing and then ionizing them. The ions are then separated magnetically according to their mass-to-charge ratioUnit used by mass spectrometers to separate ions. The mass-to-charge ratio is simply a ratio of the mass to the size of the electronic charge for any given molecular ion or fragment. Since the charge is often +1, the mass and the mass-to-charge ratio are often the same. Click on Term to Read More in order to determine the chemical or isotopic composition of a substance.