Course Outline!

Day One:  Hardware

Introduction

·         Ion sources

·         Mass analysers

·         Detectors

·         Examples of instruments

Ion optics

·         Current and charge

·         Electrostatic and Magnetic Fields

·         Motion of charged particles

·         Mass calibration and magnet control

·         Geometric optics

·         Focusing by electrostatic and magnetic sectors

·         Energy (double) focusing

Measurement

·         Peak shape

·         Mass resolving power

·         Nuclear mass defect

·         Abundance sensitivity

·         Faraday cups

·         Ion couting

Day Two:  Calibration and Sample Preparation

Lecture 1: Introduction

Lecture 2: Reference Materials part I

Lecture 3: Reference Materials part II

Lecture 4. Methods for measuring U isotopic using TIMS and UF6 Mass spectrometry

Lecture 5. Isotope dilution and tracer calibration (mixed elemental and/or isotopic)

Lecture 6. Principles of sample analyses by microbeam methods (mainly LA-ICP-MS)

Lecture 7. Sample purification by ion exchange

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Short Course Dinner: Jamie’s Italian (top floor), 7.30 for 8.00.

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Day Three:   Data reduction and Uncertainties

Lecture 1: the language of uncertainty, error, bias, precision, accuracy.  What do they all mean?

Lecture 2:  Measurement uncertainty-some basics

Lecture 3:  Limits of detection, background evaluation and assessing performance

Lecture 4: Uncertainty/error propagation

Lecture 5: Over-determined systems