Since its humble origins nearly 100 years ago, mass spectrometry has become a virtually ubiquitous research tool, with scores of scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of isotopes, the exact determination of atomic weights, the characterization of elements, and characterization of molecular structure. In fact, it is arguably one of the most important types of complex instruments in many fields of science and industry for much of the 20th century, yet the technology is generally unknown among the educated public.
Mass spectrometers are crucial for astronomical studies of our solar system.
They are also key to the non-invasive international monitoring of nuclear facilities, and are becoming important tools in studies of surface phenomena. Commercially, mass spectrometry has long played a significant role in materials analysis and process monitoring in the petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and are also used in the food processing and electronics industries. It is increasingly used in toxicology, drug abuse diagnosis and pollution monitoring, as well as for biological and biomedical uses. A mass spectrometer is usually defined as any device that operates by a process used to produce a mass spectrum, and the instruments have appeared in ever-increasing variety of designs since their inception. The time it takes to travel from the ion source to the detector is measured, then converted to mass with high accuracy.