th  - 1987 - 51st ENC Conference

Monday - PM
The NMR Gyro: An Application of NMR in a
Slowly Rotating Frame
Ann T. Nicol
Litton Guidance and Control Systems
5500 Canoga Avenue
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
The NMR gyro is a device which senses rotations through
changes in frequency (or phase) of an NMR signal as a result of
rotations relative to the inertial precession of a nuclear
magnetic moment. Mechanization of such a device requires that
the entire NMR ',spectrometer" undergoes the rotation and that
this "spectrometer" be compact, occupying only a few cubic
inches. This condition is realized in systems where a fairly
high degree of nuclear polarization is achieved in very low
fields (less than I gauss). The approach uses isotopes of noble
gases and the nuclear polarization is achieved through a cross
polarization with optically pumped alkalis. This presentation
will discuss the basic physical principles of the NMR gyro and
will present experimental results on the processes and
interactions governing nuclear polarization and relaxation in
such systems.
References
I. A.T. Nicol, Phys. Rev. B 29, 2397 (1984).
2. T.M. Kwon, J.G. Mark, and C.H. Volk, Phys. Rev A 24, 1894
(1981).