Advanced Undergraduate Laboratory

Department of Physics

University of Toronto

MASS: Mass Spectrometer

In this experiment students learn how to operate a mass spectrometer and the vacuum system associated with it.  Students plot a spectrum of the near-vacuum in the chamber, and investigate the ionization process for two different pure gases. There have been six Nobel Prize winners for work in the development of Mass Spectrometry, the most recent (Chemistry 2002) being for ionization methods for biological macromolecules.

Write-Up in PDF Format or Microsoft Word Format.

(The experiment is currently located in MP226; last write-up revision: Feb. 2005.)

Additional resources:

• Wetzel et al. (1987) paper on "Absolute cross sections for electron-impact ionization of the rare-gas atoms".
• Vinodkumar et al. (2007) paper on "Calculations of elastic, ionization and total cross sections for inert gases upon electron impact: threshold to 2 keV".

Zeynab Danesh, 3^rd year undergraduate, working with the Mass Spectrometer. In the foreground is Tak Sato, former technologist for the 3^rd and 4^th year laboratories.

Last updated on 28 March 2013