Thestrps Of The Mass Spectrometer

Question 0

What is the instrument kept under and why?

Answer 0

The spectrometer is kept under a high vacuum so that the ions do not collide with air molecules which might stop the ions reaching the detector

Question 1

In an outline what does the mass spectrometer do?

Answer 1

Atoms are converted to ions, accelerated and deflected according to their masses and their charges and then arrive at a detector

Question 2

In what state is a sample investigated in the spectrometer?

Answer 2

In the gaseous state- if in a gas or a volatile liquid it is injected into the instrument directly
However if the sample is solid it is first vaporised by heat.