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Quadrupole mass analyzer
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Mass_spectrometry/RH5WBHJ2">mass spectrometry</a>, the quadrupole mass analyzer (or quadrupole mass filter) is a type of <a href="/facts/Mass/HHdc8XmF">mass</a> analyzer originally conceived by Nobel laureate <a href="/facts/Wolfgang_Paul/F08b5Avk">Wolfgang Paul</a> and his student Helmut Steinwedel. As the name implies, it consists of four cylindrical rods, set parallel to each other. In a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) the <a href="/facts/Quadrupole/6pCeNmwT">quadrupole</a> is the <i>mass analyzer</i> – the component of the instrument responsible for selecting sample <a href="/facts/Ion/3bePpDna">ions</a> based on their <a href="/facts/Mass-to-charge_ratio/QaKpLt6B">mass-to-charge ratio</a> (<i>m/z</i>). Ions are separated in a quadrupole based on the stability of their trajectories in the oscillating <a href="/facts/Electric_field/tt4MooBs">electric fields</a> that are applied to the rods. </p>