mass spectrometry

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• n. An analytical technique that measures the mass / charge ratio of the ions formed when a molecule or atom is ionized, vaporized and introduced into a vacuum. Mass spectrometry may also involve breaking molecules into fragments - thus enabling its structure to be determined.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• n. A method for identifying chemical composition of substances by use of a mass spectrometer.
• n. the art or process of using a mass spectrometer to analyse chemical samples.