Mass spectrometer sample injector. The apparatus here is part of an automated sample loading system for a mass spectrometer. At lower left is a FAST Flame Sample Automation Platform, with 'load' and 'inject' indicator lights. This is for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). After injection, the sample is ionised in a plasma and the elements present are identified by their mass. Mass spectroscopy is the use of strong magnetic and electric fields to ionise samples and separate them by mass and charge. This apparatus is part of an XSeries 2 spectrometer from Thermo Scientific.