追随物理学发展的质量分析技术:从杆秤到质谱仪

The Mass Analysis Based on the Development of Physics: from the Steelyard to Mass Spectrometer

为了促进质量分析技术和方法不断的发展和进步,回顾了各种质量分析工具和技术所依赖的物理学原理。质量分析工具从原理上可以分为两类:一类是根据力学原理制作;另一类是根据电磁学原理制作;还有一些称量工具,同时结合了力学与电磁学的原理。由力学原理制造的质量分析工具在进行质量分析时必须受万有引力定律所制约;根据电磁学理论发明的质谱分析技术达到了质量分析的高峰。纵观现有的质量分析领域,还没有出现建立在量子力学和相对论理论基础上的质量分析技术,这有可能成为研究发明下一代质量分析方法的指路明灯。另外还系统介绍了各种质谱仪器的种类和基本物理学原理。质谱技术的应用不仅将质量分析从宏观推进到微观,还可以分析分子的种类和性质,甚至还可以分析分子结构和能量。

The physical theory of mass analysis has been briefly reviewed. The tools of mass analysis that human used during past thousands years include steelyard, spring scale, balance and mass spectrometer. All of the tools were built based on the physics theories. For example, the steelyard and balance were built based on the Archimedes＇ principle. Spring scale was built based on the Hooke＇s law of elasticity, and the mass spectrometers were built based on the electromagnetic theory. The mass spectrometers can be used to analyze the species, amounts, functions, and conformations of atoms and molecules. The physics principle of each mass analysis technique was described and the future of mass analysis was discussed.