Spectrometer

A spectrometer (/spɛkˈtrɒmɪtər/) is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon.

Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where the spectral components are somehow mixed.

Examples of spectrometers are devices that separate particles, atoms, and molecules by their mass, momentum, or energy.

The particles and ions then emit radiation that is measured by detectors (photomultiplier tubes) at different characteristic wavelengths.

[5] A mass spectrometer is an analytical instrument that is used to identify the amount and type of chemicals present in a sample by measuring the mass-to-charge ratio and abundance of gas-phase ions.

[6] The energy spectrum of particles of known mass can also be measured by determining the time of flight between two detectors (and hence, the velocity) in a time-of-flight spectrometer.

[10] Generally, the resolution of an instrument tells us how well two close-lying energies (or wavelengths, or frequencies, or masses) can be resolved.