Larmor precession

Larmor precession is the rotation of a magnetic moment around an applied magnetic field. Its angular frequency is proportional to the field strength and the moment’s gyromagnetic ratio.

Torque: Torque is the rotational effect of a force about an axis or point. A magnetic field exerts torque on a magnetic moment, changing its direction.
Nuclear magnetic resonance: Nuclear magnetic resonance is the interaction of nuclear spins with radio-frequency fields in a static magnetic field. Nuclear spins precess at a field-dependent frequency that NMR detects and manipulates.
Magnetic moment: A magnetic moment measures the strength and orientation of a system’s magnetic source. Precession tracks the changing orientation of this quantity.
Rabi oscillation: A Rabi oscillation is the periodic transfer of population between two quantum states driven by an oscillating field. It is driven motion between states, unlike free precession around the static field.
Gyromagnetic ratio: The gyromagnetic ratio is the ratio of a particle’s magnetic moment to its angular momentum. It sets the proportionality between field strength and Larmor frequency.
Magnetic resonance imaging: Magnetic resonance imaging is a medical imaging method based on signals from nuclear magnetic resonance. MRI spatially encodes the precession frequencies of hydrogen nuclei.
Magnetic field: A magnetic field is a vector field that exerts forces and torques on magnetic materials and moving charges. Its direction defines the axis around which the moment precesses.
Thomas precession: Thomas precession is a relativistic rotation of a particle’s spin caused by non-collinear acceleration. Its origin is relativistic kinematics, not torque from an applied magnetic field.
Larmor frequency: The Larmor frequency is the rate at which a magnetic moment precesses in a magnetic field. It quantifies the rotation rate described by Larmor precession.
Electron paramagnetic resonance: Electron paramagnetic resonance is a spectroscopic method that detects transitions between electron-spin states in a magnetic field. Its resonance condition is set by electron-spin Larmor precession.

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