Nuclear Magnetic Resonance done without Magnets
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is perhaps the most useful technique in the organic chemist’s toolkit. But conventional NMR requires the sample to be placed in a very high magnetic field, which needs large and expensive superconducting magnets cooled by liquid helium. Now, an interdisciplinary group in the US has managed to accomplish NMR spectroscopy without magnets. The work could lead to portable NMR spectrometers, and possibly even small personalized spectrometers for medical diagnosis.