Electric field to effect

An instrument that stores ions and then ejects those of selected masses is called an ion trap. Like quadrupole analysers such instruments employ electric fields to effect separation and are based on a similar technology. Such systems can be considered as alternatives to tandem MS. 

An electron avalanche occurs in a medium when the drifting electron attains sufficient energy from the electric field to effect collisional ionization. In dilute gases, this process is described by the first Townsend coefficient, a, which is defined as... 

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