Basic Terminology in Describing Mass Spectra

One should be aware of some basic, nonetheless often mistaken, rules of terminology when describing mass spectra. Common symbols are collected in Table 1.3. 

We talk about a xyz-type (mass) spectrum, e.g., an El mass spectrum. MS means mass spectrometry, and thus, the term MS spectrum is clearly incorrect. 

Only ions may be correlated with peaks in a spectrum This is already an act of interpretation. 

Neutral losses (rarely called dark matter [32]) are exclusively recognized from the distance between peaks expressed in terms of difference in m/z. The mass of the corresponding neutral is then given in units of u. 

A signal or peak is only the graphical representation of the mass spectrometer s detector output. It can be observed, but not act by itself in any way. 

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