New LTQ Mass Spectrometer
Mar. 14th, 2005 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beige_alertI know some of you must have been wondering if we were ever going to get a better mass spectrometer in the Protein Lab. Answer: heck yea! Our new Thermo Electron Finnigan LTQ linear ion trap has arrived. I have photos from day one of installation on Flickr in my Laboratory set, or just look for the LTQ tag. More photos will follow.
The nice thing about mass spectrometers is that, although they cost a lot, at least they look like they cost a lot. Some machines cost a hundred-thousand dollars and just don’t look like much, just a bunch of plastic tubes and solenoids. A mass spec may cost a third of a million, but it looks like a third of a million bucks, with shiny high-vacuum components, turbomolecular pumps, polished ion optic components, and lots and lots of electronics.
The nice thing about mass spectrometers is that, although they cost a lot, at least they look like they cost a lot. Some machines cost a hundred-thousand dollars and just don’t look like much, just a bunch of plastic tubes and solenoids. A mass spec may cost a third of a million, but it looks like a third of a million bucks, with shiny high-vacuum components, turbomolecular pumps, polished ion optic components, and lots and lots of electronics.
