4) Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and its applications

Since many years, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), in particular the well-known 14C method, is a standard technique for dating samples of different origins. One of the recent prime examples is the successful age determination of the Iceman found in the Ötztal Alps, South Tyrol, Italy. Recently, AMS was also used to measure the cross section for a couple of nuclear reactions important in nuclear astrophysics. Nevertheless, AMS has many more applications; some of them will be presented in this lecture together with a general introduction to the experimental techniques and the necessary equipment.