mass spectrometry

Definition of mass spectrometry

: an instrumental method for identifying the chemical constitution of a substance by means of the separation of gaseous ions according to their differing mass and charge

— called also mass spectroscopy

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Examples of mass spectrometry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The lead investigator, Dr. Randall Bateman, a neurologist at Washington University, has been working on a mass spectrometry test for 20 years. — New York Times, "A Blood Test for Alzheimer’s? It’s Coming, Scientists Report," 1 Aug. 2019 Team members from Vanderbilt and New York State Museum in Albany then used mass spectrometry to measure the relative abundance of different isotopes of carbon in the enamel from ancient and modern-day carnivores. — Stephanie De Marco, Los Angeles Times, "Bones pulled from the La Brea Tar Pits show the perils of being a picky eater," 26 Aug. 2019 That’s where gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS to its friends) comes in. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Neanderthals glued their tools together," 2 July 2019 The scientists would pick up a cooler full of frozen wastewater samples, thaw them and analyze them using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. — Gene Johnson, The Seattle Times, "Gee whiz: Testing of Tacoma sewage confirms rise in marijuana use," 24 June 2019 In the new study, Dr. Grün tested samples using a technique called laser ablation mass spectrometry that measures levels of uranium isotopes. — Robert Lee Hotz, WSJ, "Fossil Suggests Earliest Known Movement of Humans Out of Africa," 10 July 2019 The scientists would pick up a cooler full of frozen wastewater samples, thaw them and analyze them using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. — Gene Johnson, The Seattle Times, "Gee whiz: Testing of Tacoma sewage confirms rise in marijuana use," 24 June 2019 To find out what had been burned in them, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences archaeologist Yemin Yang and his colleagues used gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to analyze small samples of the charred wood and the residue from the stones. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Oldest evidence of cannabis smoking found in ancient Chinese cemetery," 12 June 2019 The scientists would pick up a cooler full of frozen wastewater samples, thaw them and analyze them using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. — Gene Johnson, The Seattle Times, "Gee whiz: Testing of Tacoma sewage confirms rise in marijuana use," 24 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mass spectrometry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near mass spectrometry

mass spectrograph

mass spectrometry

Statistics for mass spectrometry

Last Updated

20 Oct 2019

Time Traveler for mass spectrometry

The first known use of mass spectrometry was in 1926

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incongruous

not being in agreement or harmony

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