Submission + - World's first tricorder created by Purdue
aeoneal writes: According to Science Daily, mass spectrometry is no longer limited to what can be taken to the lab. Purdue researchers have created a handy 20 lb. device that combines mass spectrometry with DESI (desorption electrospray ionization), allowing chemical composition to be determined outside of a vacuum chamber. Purdue suggests this could be useful for everything from detecting explosive substances or cancer to predicting disease. Researcher R. Graham Cooks says, "We like to compare it to the tricorder because it is truly a hand-held instrument that yields information about the precise chemical composition of samples in a matter of minutes without harming the samples."
