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Article: Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer
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- Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, andSecurity
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer
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LAURIE DUNCAN
The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC/MS) is an instrument used to analyze the molecular and ionic composition of chemical compounds. GC/MS technology combines two widely used laboratory techniques: gas chromatography (GC), which separates and identifies compounds in complex mixtures, and mass spectrometry (MS), which determines the molecular weight and ionic components of individual compounds. The combination of these two powerful tools into a single instrument
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the chemical separates produced by the gas chromatograph become the input for the mass spectrometer
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allows for quick, precise analyses of ...