Measuring Mass: From Positive Rays to Proteins

Measuring Mass: From Positive Rays to Proteins is part of a celebration of fifty years of the Annual Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics. As such, it is intended not only for practitioners of mass spectrometry but also for the lay reader interested in knowing more about the field. Many who practice the art and science of mass spectrometry are unaware of how the technique is applied outside their particular area of expertise. This short exposition will provide the practitioner and lay reader alike with an appreciation for the diverse applications of mass spectrometry in present-day scientific endeavors. Measuring Mass is also intended to celebrate the major events in the history of mass spectrometry. While a complete history of the field would require a tome of much greater size, this book provides a flavor of how mass spectrometry developed from an early-20th-century curiosity of the physics laboratory into the powerful analytical tool of today. The intertwined stories of advances in the technology and instrumentation of mass spectrometry with the demand to extend the tool to more complex analytical problems are explored in chapters on applications in geology, chemistry, biology, pharmaceuticals, space, the environment and forensic science.