Electrospray ionization

Imagine you have a water bottle and you want to spray the water out of it. You can do this by squeezing the bottle and the water will come out in tiny droplets. Electrospray ionization works in a similar way, but instead of water, we are using a liquid called a solvent and instead of droplets, we are creating tiny charged particles called ions.

We start by putting the solvent into a container with a tiny hole in the bottom. Then we add a high voltage (like when you rub your feet on the carpet and touch a doorknob) to the container to create an electric field. This electric field makes the solvent come out of the tiny hole in the container in a stream of tiny droplets.

As the solvent droplets move through the air, some of them evaporate and become even smaller. This process creates even more charged particles called ions. These ions can be used to study different molecules and materials, like proteins or drugs.

So, electrospray ionization is basically a way of creating tiny charged particles that we can use to learn more about the things around us!