Atomic mass more significant figures than atomic weights. Standard atomic weight is related to atomic mass by the abundance ranking of isotopes for each element. It is usually "about" the same value as the atomic mass of the most abundant isotope, other than what looks like (but is not actually) a rounding difference. The atomic mass of atoms, ions, or atomic nuclei is slightly less than the sum of the masses of their constituent protons, neutrons, and electrons, due to binding energy mass loss (as per "E"="mc"). Relative "isotopic" mass (a property of a single atom) is not to be confused with
Atomic spectroscopy sample. The relationship between the concentration of atoms, the distance the light travels through the collection of atoms, and the portion of the light absorbed is given by the Beer–Lambert law. In atomic emission spectroscopy, the intensity of the emitted light is directly proportional to the concentration of atoms. Atomic mass spectrometry is similar to other types of mass spectrometry in that it consists of an ion source, a mass analyzer, and a detector. Atoms' identities are determined by their mass-to-charge ratio (via the mass analyzer) and their concentrations are determined by the number of ions detected. Although considerable research