April 12 - 4:00pm Phys 223
(Coffee at 3:30p.m. in room 242)
(Coffee at 3:30p.m. in room 242)
Prof. Charles P. Slichter
Research Professor of Physics and Center for Advanced Study Emeritus Professor of Physics and Chemistry
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Title: "50 Years of Surprises; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, A Scientific Evergreen"
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was discovered in 1946. It was originally conceived of as a means of measuring the magnetic and angular momentum properties of nuclei, a method much simpler than for example use of atomic or molecular beams apparatus. It was soon discovered that NMR would be a very powerful method for study of condensed matter physics, and shortly thereafter its applicability to the study of chemistry was discovered. Discovery of its utility in biology and medicine followed. The talk will explain how these things came about, including the most recent new field, magnetic resonance imaging. Instrumental and conceptual developments continue to keep coming, making NMR a scientific evergreen.