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Detection of Black Holes

Detection of Black Holes

Although black holes were theoretically postulated in the 1920s, they remained outside the domain of observational astronomy until the 1970s.
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Magnetic Moment

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Magnetic Moment

All atomic nuclei are positively charged. When they have a nonzero spin, they behave like rotating charges. As a consequence of their charge and spin, these nuclei generate a magnetic field (B). This, in turn, gives rise to a magnetic moment (μ), which is randomly oriented in the absence of an external magnetic field. When an external magnetic field (B0) is applied, the magnetic moment vectors can align with the field or against it in 2 + 1 orientations. A hydrogen nucleus, which is just a...

Atomic Nuclei: Magnetic Resonance

Atomic Nuclei: Magnetic Resonance

The number of nuclear spins aligned in the lower energy state is slightly greater than those in the higher energy state. In the presence of an external magnetic field, as the spins precess at the Larmor frequency, the excess population results in a net magnetization oriented along the z axis. When a pulse or a short burst of radio waves at the Larmor frequency is applied along the x axis, the coupling of frequencies causes resonance and flips the nuclear spins of the excess population from the...

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes

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In the absence of an external magnetic field, nuclear spin states are degenerate and randomly oriented. When a magnetic field is applied, the spins begin to precess and orient themselves along (lower energy) or against (higher energy) the direction of the field. At equilibrium, a slight excess population of spins exists in the lower energy state. Because the direction of the magnetic field is fixed as the z-axis, the precessing magnetic moments are randomly oriented around the z-axis.

Magnetic Fields

Magnetic Fields

A moving charge or a current creates a magnetic field in the surrounding space, in addition to its electric field. The magnetic field exerts a force on any other moving charge or current that is present in the field. Like an electric field, the magnetic field is also a vector field. At any position, the direction of the magnetic field is defined as the direction in which the north pole of a compass needle points.
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Magnetic Field Lines

Magnetic Field Lines

The representation of magnetic fields by magnetic field lines is very useful in visualizing the strength and direction of the magnetic field. Each of the magnetic field lines forms a closed loop. The field lines emerge from the north pole (N), loop around to the south pole (S), and continue through the bar magnet back to the north pole.
Magnetic field lines follow several hard-and-fast rules:

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 1, 2026

High-Sensitivity Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at Giga-Pascal Pressures: A New Tool for Probing Electronic and Chemical Properties of Condensed Matter under Extreme Conditions

High-Sensitivity Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at Giga-Pascal Pressures: A New Tool for Probing Electronic and Chemical Properties of Condensed Matter under Extreme Conditions

Published on: October 10, 2014

Strong magnetic fields in normal galaxies at high redshift.

Martin L Bernet¹, Francesco Miniati, Simon J Lilly

¹Department of Physics, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 16, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.

|July 18, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Early galaxies possessed strong magnetic fields, comparable to today's. This study links these powerful galactic magnetic fields to normal galaxies in the early Universe, challenging previous assumptions about their origin and timescale.

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High-Sensitivity Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at Giga-Pascal Pressures: A New Tool for Probing Electronic and Chemical Properties of Condensed Matter under Extreme Conditions

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Optimizing Magnetic Force Microscopy Resolution and Sensitivity to Visualize Nanoscale Magnetic Domains

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Published on: July 20, 2022

Area of Science:

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cosmic Magnetism
Galaxy Evolution

Background:

The origin and amplification of magnetic fields in galaxies remain poorly understood.
The dynamo effect is the presumed mechanism for amplifying seed magnetic fields over cosmic time.
Previous studies suggested comparable magnetic field strengths in early and present-day galaxies, but their distribution was unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the origin and distribution of magnetic fields in the early Universe.
To determine if high magnetic field strengths are associated with normal galaxies or specific quasar environments.
To constrain the timescale of magnetic field amplification via the dynamo effect.

Main Methods:

Analysis of high-resolution spectra of distant quasars.
Measurement of rotation measures (RMs) to trace magnetic field strengths.
Correlation of RMs with Mg II absorption lines, indicative of galactic halo environments.

Main Results:

A clear association was found between high rotation measures and strong Mg II absorption lines in quasars.
Mg II absorption lines trace the haloes of normal galaxies along the sightlines to quasars.
This indicates that strong, organized magnetic fields are present in normal galaxies when the Universe was only one-third its current age.

Conclusions:

Organized magnetic fields of significant strength are associated with normal galaxies in the early Universe.
This finding challenges the notion that such fields only develop later or are confined to unusual galactic environments.
The results provide crucial constraints on models of galactic dynamo action and the evolution of cosmic magnetism.