How does nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy work?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (MRI) is an increasingly common source of physiological information. For example, MRI can be used to probe the brain for irregularities. The information obtained from MRI is complementary to X-Ray photographs and CAT scans. Whereas X-Rays produce images of body regions with contrasting density (such as the dense bones vs. low density soft tissue), MRI yields images of regions with contrasting water content (such as different areas of the brain). A MRI image of a human head is shown in Figure 2.7. It may come as a surprise to you that MRI is actually a form of a more general spectroscopic technique with the ominous sounding name of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. NMR is a very powerful spectroscopic method that reveals direct information about the environment of atoms in different materials. Figure 2.7 MRI of a human head Movies of a rotating brain obtained with MRI Just as the name implies, NMR (as well as MRI) involves observation of nuc
