Article
Article
Time-of-flight spectrometers
Article By:
Firk, Frank W. K. Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Last reviewed:January 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.697700
A general class of instruments in which the speed of a particle is determined directly by measuring the time that it takes to travel a measured distance. By knowing the particle's mass, its energy can be calculated. If the particles are uncharged (for example, neutrons), difficulties arise because standard methods of measurement (such as deflection in electric and magnetic fields) are not possible. The time-of-flight method is a powerful alternative, suitable for both uncharged and charged particles, that involves the measurement of the time t that a particle takes to travel a distance l. If the rest mass of the particle is m0, its kinetic energy ET can be calculated from its measured speed, υ = , using the equation below,
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