| In 1918, Dempster developed the first modern mass spectrometer, a
scientific aparatus allowing physicists to identify compounds by the mass of elements in a
sample, and determine the isotopic composition of elements in a sample.
Dempster's mass spectrometer was over 100 times more accurate than previous
versions, and established the basic theory and design of mass spectrometers that
is still used to this day. Dempster's research over his career centered around
the mass spectrometer and its applications, leading in 1935 to his discovery of
the uranium isotope 235U. This isotope's
ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission nuclear chain reaction allowed the
development of the atom bomb and nuclear power. |
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