The item consists of two curved steel magnets welded to T-shaped metal support brackets, with a gap between them. The brackets have four separate metal components, held together by screws. The components exhibit different levels of corrosion, and are likely different alloys. One component of the support bracket is coated with black paint.
Accession Number: 2014.ph.634
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Steel/Iron
Markings: None
Length = 28 cm, Height = 6 cm, Width = 12 cm
The instrument was used to bend beams of ions, which were contained in a vacuum vessel positioned in the gap between the magnets. The degree to which the beams bent corresponded to the mass of the ions contained in them, and a detector was used to sort out different isotopes accordingly. The magnet was a part of a mass spectrometer.
The instrument is in good condition, but there is minor surface corrosion over the entire body. The different metal components exhibit different levels of corrosion; the magnets are most significantly corroded.
Associated Instruments:
Manufacturer:
Date of Manufacture:
The instrument was most likely part of a mass spectrometer used by the University of Toronto Physics Department used prior to the Department’s very large “Isotrace” spectrometer. The magnet would likely have been the only one used in the spectrometer.
Additional Information and References:
Ted Litherland, retired Professor at the University of Toronto, has more information about the history of mass spectrometry at the Department of Physics.
Themes:
- Donated to UTSIC