Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for measuring samples and for localizing a first substance within a surrounding second substance by means of nuclear magnetic resonance

US5789257A · kind A · utility

5Cited by
0References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 11, 1996
Grant dateAug 4, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 11, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10T436/24
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A method and an apparatus are disclosed for detecting a first substance within a second substance, preferably for localizing diamonds in kimberlite rocks. The first substance, e.g. the diamonds, have a very long spin-lattice relaxation time (T.sub.1) in the order of hours. For rapidly detecting the first substance, the build-up of magnetization of a predetermined kind of nuclei, e.g. .sup.13 C, being abundant in the first substance only is shortened and the nuclear magnetic resonance of that kind of nuclei is measured thereafter. The shortening is executed within a pre-treatment station, whereas the measurement takes place within an analyzing station. The shortening and the measuring, respectively, are carried out within magnetic fields (B.sub.01, B.sub.02) of different field strengths.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.