Also in this week's C&EN, the latest salvo in the Letters to the Editor:
O. David Sparkman (C&EN, Aug. 27, page 3) is correct that there is “no such thing” as the term “mass spectroscopy.” Paul J. Karol (C&EN, Oct. 1, page 2) is correct to refer to the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry but unfortunately referenced the 1991 recommendations in Pure & Applied Chemistry (DOI: 10.1351/pac199163101541). This older document has been superseded by 2013 recommendations (Pure Appl. Chem., DOI: 10.1351/pac-rec-06-04-06), which state on page 1565, “Mass spectroscopy is an obsolete synonym for mass spectrometry that should not be used to avoid confusion with spectroscopies in which the measured quantity is absorption or emission of electromagnetic radiation.”
Unfortunately, the usually reliable IUPAC Gold Book (goldbook.iupac.org) has not been updated with the most recent recommendations and still refers to the obsolete 1991 entry for mass “spectroscopy.” Hopefully this valuable resource will be updated soon.
Charles LucyNever argue semantics with an analytical chemist, it seems.
Edmonton, Alberta
Give 'em hell, Chuck! And to think, he's a chromatographer...
ReplyDeleteReaders may enjoy one of Chucks earlier sermons,
ReplyDeleteHow to succeed in analytical chemistry: a bibliography of resources from the literature
Talanta 51 (2000) 1125–1147 doi:10.1016/s0039-9140(00)00284-8
Abstract
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My PhD advisor would have cut us off at the knees had we used the term "mass spectroscopy". She was also not fond of the term "daughter ion"
ReplyDeleteSplit the difference and use mass spectrophotometry.
ReplyDeleteHow about "computer-generated visual representation of a mass-and-magnetic field-dependent phenomenon"
ReplyDeleteI think it's fair to point out that the original term preferred for tandem MS experiments was "particle spectroscopy" because you were measuring energy, not mass directly
ReplyDelete