Chapter 26, Problem 68A

To determine

To Describe: Portable mass spectrometer used at airport.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

A mass spectrometer helps to determine the composition of a sample by measuring its mass to charge ratio, presenting a mass spectrum and plotting intensity versus mass-to-charge ratio.

Portable mass spectrometers are used for security purposes for detection of hazardous materials such as explosives inside the luggage.

From a scientific study it is known that this spectrometer can detect the presence of trace quantities of chemicals, such as those contained in biological and nuclear weapons and other particular surface explosives within seconds.