zekromNLR t1_j7hqalm wrote
Reply to comment by ECatPlay in Understanding that deuterium and tritium are simply isotopes of hydrogen, is there an equivalent periodic table that shows all known elements and their isotopes? by [deleted]
> When chlorine is present in a chemical being sampled for instance, since 76% of the time the chlorine atom will be 35Cl and 24% of the time it will be 37Cl, this will show up as very characteristic pairs of peaks in a 3:1 ratio, 2 mass units apart in all chlorine containing fragments in the Mass Spectrum.
Though that would only be for fragments containing a single chlorine atom each, right? Something with two or three chlorine atoms in one fragment should show a much more complex pattern, since each chlorine atom can either be 35Cl or 37Cl.
ECatPlay t1_j7ima7e wrote
Oh sure! If there were two chlorines present in the chemical, then any fragments in the mass spec that contained 2 chlorines would appear as a triplet of peaks, 2 mass units apart, in the ratio 0.578:0.365:0.058 (if I did the math correctly, 0.76x0.76:2x0.76x0.24:0.24:0.24). So it would be easy to distinguish between fragments with one chlorine or with two chlorines: the characteristic triplet would mean 2 chlorines and the doublet would mean one.
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