Vacuum System
Mass spectrometers operate under high vacuum to minimize collisions between ions and residual gas molecules, ensuring accurate measurements.
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The statement of the theorem
The operational requirement for a high vacuum system is maintaining a pressure significantly below atmospheric pressure, typically Torr. This condition ensures that the mean free path of the ions is much greater than the dimensions of the instrument, such that the collision frequency with residual gas molecules is minimized:\n \nwhere is the Boltzmann constant, is the temperature, is the pressure, is the collision cross-section, and is the characteristic length scale.
Source: Wikipedia