Scheme of a Quadrupole ion trap of classical setup with a particle of positive charge (red), surrounded by a cloud of similarly charged particles (red). The electric field E (blue) is generated by a quadrupole of endcaps (a, positive) and a ring electrode (b). Picture 1 and 2 show two states during an AC cycle.

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Scheme of a Quadrupole ion trap of classical setup with a particle of positive charge (red), surrounded by a cloud of similarly charged particles (red). The electric field E (blue) is generated by a quadrupole of endcaps (a, positive) and a ring electrode (b). Picture 1 and 2 show two states during an AC cycle.