2. Scientific and technological aspects

The physical properties of the sodium nucleus ( ²³ Na) allow it to be detected by NMR and, consequently, salt (NaCl) to be analyzed by NMR spectroscopy and imaging. When a salty sample is placed in an intense, static magnetic field, a macroscopic magnetization appears in the sample parallel to the field. This results from the distribution of all sodium nuclei between different energy levels at thermodynamic equilibrium.

An NMR experiment ( http://www.cis.rit.edu/htbooks/...