| Abstract: | ![]()
The ion current transmitted by the collector slit of a double focusing mass spectrometer is considered as a function of two variables which independently reflect the effects of the instrument's electric and magnetic sectors. The ionic products of reactions occurring in the source and in various regions of the flight tube give rise to peaks or ridges with distinctive shapes and positions in the surface so derived. Volumes under peaks are proportional to abundances of ions. The surface provides a unified view of the alternative methods of scanning and facilitates understanding of the contrasting perspectives of metastable peaks which they reveal. The method, which may be applied with instruments of either conventional or reversed geometry, is illustrated for the former by reference to that part of the surface for toluene which relates to the loss of H from the molecular ion. |
