Hello,

http://publiclab.org/wiki/spectrometer

Has anybody ever heard of this/have any experience with this?

I like the idea of "open source" mass spec data...
I wonder if this product could be used to check substances for impurities/adulterants or to check plant material for active compounds?

Even though this has been around for a while now, the search function revealed no threads yet hence this post...

PLUR

that is a spectrophotometer, not a mass spectrometer.
two completely different instruments.

spectrophotometers are spectrometers, but spectrometers
are not necessarily spectrophotometers. it depends on the
method of signal amplification and detection. Mass specs use the electron multiplier,
spectrophotometers have photomultiplier tubes.

the spectrophotometer may tell you concentration of a known
analyte using Lambert-Beer's law.
the mass spec identifies compounds according to mass/charge ratio.
they're far from DIY, as they use various circuits controlling multiple parameters
under high vacuum.

Thank you benz for your explanation and sorry for not having noticed the difference myself (all the science is relatively new to me)

So do you think the mentioned product could be used for any of the purposes mentioned in OP?

PLUR

Short answer, no.

the device you link can, at best, give you some idea of how much of an analyte is in solution. the spectrum range they listed is a bit on the high side; to measure the absorbance of simple tryptamines, you'd want to look in the 280-320 nm range.

could be somewhat useful for beta-carbolines though. it'll at least expose you to the world of spectrophotometry, a technique often used in analytical/bioanalytical chemistry.

to determine purity, an absorbance spec (a spectrophotometer) containing a flow cell, for the continuous flow of 'mobile phase' (solvent carrying the analyte) is used; the graphic output is shown as absorbance intensity over time, and the areas under the curves are integrated to obtain the relative abundance of the analyte(s).

keep in mind, whether it be be a mass spec, NMR, or UV Spec...they're all really just very sensitive voltmeters.