A History of European Mass Spectrometry

A History of European Mass Spectrometry presents the history of mass spectrometry from the point of view of prominent European scientists working in the field and representatives of leading manufacturers of mass spectrometers in Europe. It is by no means a monograph or a textbook but rather a collection of separate essays, written by a number of authors who present their personal thoughts on various aspects of the development of mass spectrometry. A History of European Mass Spectrometry focuses mainly, though not exclusively, on developments in Europe, which was a cradle of this very important analytical method.

The construction of Thompson’s mass spectrograph in Cambridge almost exactly a century ago followed by Aston’s improved instruments and his pioneering work on non-radioactive isotopes is widely known. In the sixty years or so since then, European scientists and engineers have made many major contributions to the development of new instruments and techniques. Accounts of these contributions in the scientific literature necessarily give little idea of the contributors themselves or of the difficulties that had to be overcome before success was achieved.

Most newcomers to mass spectrometry in the last ten years will have little concept of the difficulties faced in obtaining the mass spectra of four solid samples during a working day before the invention of the vacuum lock probe. This was followed by several hours of counting spectra and trying to interpret them. Many will never have seen a magnetic deflection instrument and will be familiar only with mass spectrometers having both the operation of the instrument and the interpretation of the data under computer control.

For people who are just starting their adventures in mass spectrometry A History of European Mass Spectrometry will give a broad overview of this field of science, showing how lucky they are to be working with such advanced and easy to operate instruments. It was not always like this … Veterans in the field will find in this book many names of their good friends—and often scientific competitors—and have the opportunity to find their faces on the vintage photographs. They will also see the instruments, now long dismantled, that were the witnesses of their greatest scientific achievements. 

In conclusion: every scientist, young or old, who works with mass spectrometry will find something of interest in this book.