Digital learning tools and laboratory simulations have been an area of great interest not only due to the advancements of at-home learning but also by allowing students and institutions access to experiences they would not have otherwise due to the high cost of commercial instrumentation. The need for online learning tools became especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, when students and educators were forced to embrace new ways to construct a learning environment. A time-of-flight mass spectrometer virtual instrument named TOFSim, written in National Instrument’s LabVIEW graphical programming language, is presented here as a means for teaching the principles of time-of-flight mass spectrometry through first-hand experience and guided exercises. TOFSim is capable of generating realistic data that allows the user to explore and optimize their virtual instrument outside of a traditional laboratory environment.

中文翻译：

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TOFSim：基于 LabView 的飞行时间质谱仪模拟

数字学习工具和实验室模拟一直是人们非常感兴趣的领域，不仅因为家庭学习的进步，而且因为允许学生和机构获得由于商业仪器的高成本而无法获得的体验。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，学生和教育工作者被迫采用新的方式来构建学习环境，对在线学习工具的需求变得尤为重要。这里介绍了一种名为 TOFSim 的飞行时间质谱仪虚拟仪器，它是用 National Instrument 的 LabVIEW 图形编程语言编写的，作为通过第一手经验和指导练习来教授飞行时间质谱原理的方法。 TOFSim 能够生成真实的数据，使用户能够在传统实验室环境之外探索和优化其虚拟仪器。