Relaxometry

Relaxometry refers to the study and/or measurement of relaxation variables in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In NMR, nuclear magnetic moments are used to measure specific physical and chemical properties of materials.

Relaxation of the nuclear spin system is crucial for all NMR applications. The relaxation rate depends strongly on the mobility (fluctuations, diffusion) of the microscopic environment and the strength of the applied magnetic field. As a rule of thumb, strong magnetic fields lead to increased sensitivity on fast dynamics while low fields lead to increased sensitivity on slow dynamics. Thus, the relaxation rate as a function of the magnetic field strength is a fingerprint of the microscopic dynamics.