Signals from the Subatomic World: How to Build a Proton Precession Magnetometer [Paperback]

Stefan Hollos (Author), Richard Hollos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008

The discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance earned Felix Bloch and Ed Purcell the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics. What their discovery took advantage of, is that protons are the world's smallest magnets. These tiny magnets can also be used to make a magnetometer, of the type described in this book. This book describes how to build a proton precession magnetometer, suitable for measurements of the Earth's magnetic field. This method of measuring magnetic fields offers the theoretically highest possible precision, limited only by the known value of the gyromagnetic ratio of the proton. Uses of the magnetometer include: making precise measurements of the Earth's magnetic field, calibrating low field magnetometers, teaching modern signal processing techniques, demonstrating nuclear magnetism and NMR to students, and measuring nuclear magnetic relaxation in liquids. The Earth's field proton precession magnetometer, called the Magnum, described in this book, was formerly a commercial product, developed and sold by Exstrom Laboratories LLC. It was designed by Stefan Hollos and Richard Hollos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Abrazol Publishing; First Edition edition (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887187006
• ISBN-13: 978-1887187008
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,094,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Scientific Instruments

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Instruction Set!, August 16, 2011

By 

J. Leeman "Researcher" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signals from the Subatomic World: How to Build a Proton Precession Magnetometer (Paperback)

I bought this planning to build such an instrument. After reading it cover to cover I feel that the instrument could be constructed by someone with reasonable technical skill without too much pain. I'm planning on modifying some of the design by updating the data acquisition hardware and writing my own control/signal processing code, but I'm sure that the code provided works well also. I may also add a couple more panel indicators to give students a better picture of what the instrument is doing each step of the way.

All the parts lists were very complete, even with prices at the time of publication (2008) and part numbers. The first chapter on how the instrument works is understandable on a basic college physics level while more advanced readers are sent to specialized papers and books. Using a higher resolution ADC I'm sure interesting experiments could be done beyond just a simple magnetometer. It seems the unit is rather heavy, but maybe experimentation will let the advanced builder construct another prototype. Congratulations on a well written document to the Hollos brothers.