Thermal analysis—mass spectrometer computer system and its application to the evolved gas analysis of green river shale and lunar soil samples

A thermal analysis—mass spectrometer system controlled by a computer has been developed and successfully used in the analysis of a wide variety of geochemical samples. The TA—MS computer system provides a very powerful analytical tool for the determination of volatile species released from samples over a very wide temperature and sample-size range. Use of a small laboratory computer and magnetic-tape storage units permits large quantities of analytical information to be handled and easily retrieved. The rapid scan capabilities of the quadrupole mass spectrometer operating under computer control are especially useful for following the rapidly changing composition of the evolved gases released from samples during heating under vacuum conditions. Samples of volatile-rich Green River shale and two lunar soils have been analyzed to show the utility of the TA—MS computer system.