Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Production of Synthetic Nuclear Melt Glass
Published on: January 4, 2016
Observation of the Nuclear Barnett Effect
Mohsen Arabgol1, Tycho Sleator1
1Department of Physics, New York University, 726 Broadway, New York, New York 10003, USA.
Abstract:
We have made the first observation of the nuclear Barnett effect. In the electronic Barnett effect, which was first observed in 1915 by Samuel Barnett, a ferromagnetic rod was spun about its long axis and a magnetization developed in the rod along the axis of rotation. This effect is caused by the coupling between the angular momentum of the electronic spins in the sample and the rotational motion of the rod. In our experiment, we measured the nuclear Barnett effect by rotating a sample of water at rotational speeds up to 13.5 kHz in a weak magnetic field and observed a change in the polarization of the protons in the sample that is proportional to the frequency of rotation. We measured this polarization by observing the change in the size of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal. No NMR frequency shift was observed due to rotation, meaning that this magnetization was not produced by a real magnetic field.
Related Concept Videos
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together...
Nuclear Fusion
A helium nucleus has a mass that is 0.7% less than that of four hydrogen nuclei; this lost mass is converted into energy during the fusion. This reaction produces about...
Non-nuclear Inheritance
Nuclear Transmutation
Nuclear Export of mRNA
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Fuels
Nuclear fuel consists of a fissile isotope, such as uranium-235, which must be present in sufficient quantity to provide a...

