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A mass spectrometer is traditionally a particularly bulky piece of equipment, with some taking up entire rooms in laboratories. Ramsey’s device is a rectangle that’s roughly a foot long and weighs nine pounds — including its battery.Some mass spectrometers fill entire rooms while ones used in laboratories weigh several hundred pounds.
“A miniaturized mass spectrometer to the point where it can actually be carried around by an individual has been a goal that people have been striving for at least four decades,” said Ramsey. “You couldn’t get your arms around them and you certainly wouldn’t be able to lift them.”
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