View source for NMR from an Instrument point of view

==This section focuses on the NMR instrument.==
All instruments have three basic components: a signal generator, a sample holder and a detector.

For NMR:
*signal generator - radio
*sample holder - such as an NMR tube in a spinner.
*detector - antenna

An NMR instrument has a fourth component, a magnet, that is used to put the sample into an excited state. This excited state is then probed with the signal generator and the result detected with the detector. An instrument with a superconducting magnet is shown below. These systems can be very expensive, in the millions of dollars for the best ones. Due to the high technology required there are only a few [[NMR Instrument Manufacturers|manufacturers]]. The instrument pictured is about 8 feet tall.

[[File:NMR_Magnet_and_the_probesmall.jpg|400px]]

==Signal Generator==
The signal generator is a regular radio transmitter design.

==Sample Holder==
For solution NMR, a normal sample consists of about 0.75ml placed into an NMR tube:

[[file:NMR_tube.jpg|100px]]

This sample is then put into a spinner that then sits within the magnet which has what is called a [[NMR probe suppliers|probe]] in it. This probe contains the antennas for the transmitter and receiver.

[[file:probe.jpg|400px]]

==Detector==
The signal coming out of the probe is very weak so it has to go through a powerful preamplifier first, then on to the receiver.

[[file:schematic.png|600px]]

==List of topics in this section==
# [[NMR Instrument Manufacturers|manufacturers]]
# [[NMR probe suppliers]]
# [[NMR consumables suppliers]]