In Star Trek, Mr. Spock’s hand-held tricorder can instantly tell what something is made of. We don’t have tricorders yet, but we’re getting close. Portable devices just a little too big to hold in one ...

This GC-IRMS system is configured to perform compound-specific isotope analysis of compounds that are separable via gas chromatography, and can measure either δ 2 H or δ 13 C.