Tandem mass spectrometry ionization and fragmentation steps occur on a millisecond or microsecond timescale, representing standard instrumental physics and everyday observation in analytical chemistry.
The claim states that a tandem mass spectrometry experiment takes milliseconds to complete, which reflects the fundamental operational speed of ion separation, fragmentation, and detection in mass spectrometers. While papers discuss rapid scan rates (e.g., up to 270 Hz in paper [2]), the core timescale of individual tandem mass spectrometry events is foundational background knowledge in analytical chemistry rather than a contested empirical hypothesis requiring citation.