Mass Spectrometer

The Mass Spectrometer, invented by J.J. Thomson in 1912, revolutionized chemistry by measuring the mass-to-charge ratio of ions with unprecedented precision, enabling the discovery of isotopes. Today’s instruments achieve parts-per-trillion sensitivity, making them critical in drug testing, forensics, and proteomics for identifying trace compounds. In terms of analytical versatility, it outperforms #7 DNA Sequencer by broadly applying to any ionizable element or molecule, not just nucleotides. A single modern mass spectrometer can process 1,000 samples daily, detecting concentrations as low as 1 femtogram per microliter—a 100-fold improvement over early 20th-century models.