accelerator mass spectrometer

The particle accelerators used in nuclear physics can be viewed as mass spectrometers of rather distorted forms, but the three principal elements—the ion source, analyzer, and detector—are always present. L.W. Alvarez and Robert Cornog of the United States first used an

…of an instrument called an accelerator mass spectrometer has brought about a major advance in radiocarbon dating. Unlike the old detector (e.g., the Geiger counter) that counts the few decay particles emitted from a large amount of carbon, the new instrument counts directly all of the carbon-14 atoms in a…

…with the introduction of the accelerator mass spectrometer. This instrument is highly sensitive and allows precise ages on as little as 1 milligram (0.001 gram [0.00004 ounce]) of carbon, where the older method might require as much as 25 grams (0.9 ounce) for ancient material. The increased sensitivity results from…