The response of a device named for this process to hydrocarbons is directly proportional to the number of carbon atoms by an “equal per carbon” rule. Direct analysis in real time induces this process through the production of metastable species in an ambient form of it. Excess methane gas is used to induce this process in its “chemical” type. This process partially names a detector in gas chromatography that uses hydrogen flames. An energy for this process can be calculated from (10[1])HOMO (10[1])(“ho-mo”) energies according to (-5[1])Koopman’s theorem. A “soft” form of this process occurs after matrix-assisted laser desorption. Products generated by this process are often analyzed by distinct mass-to-charge ratios. For 10 points, name this process of removing electrons to generate charged species. ■END■ (10[1])