"It is an old story in physics that higher resolving power leads to new effects. We remember that the magnetic moment of the nucleus was itself discovered through the hyperfine structure of lines in the visible spectrum. The nuclear resonance line in a liquid or gas can be remarkably narrow, as you have already seen. As soon as the reason for this was recognized, it became clear that the only practical limit on resolution was the inhomogeneity of the magnetic field applied to the specimen."
React to this quote
More by Edward Mills Purcell
See allResonant Thoughts
"It was the human spirit itself that failed at Paris. It is no use passing judgments and making scapegoats of this or that individual statesman or group of statesmen. Idealists make a great mistake in …"
"On the supposition that the world is to go on divided among aggressive sovereign states, with phases of war preparation known as peace and acute phases of more and more destructive war, it is quite a …"
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"Arguments can always be answered. Moral philosophy, unlike straight moralizing, arises from and trives on p…"
— Mary Midgley"I am ready to obey as a child; — but, not being a child, I think I ought to have a reason."
— Anthony Trollope"he optimist’s impatience with or condemnation of pessimism often has a smug macho tone to it . There is a s…"
— David Benatar"Well, I hate to admit it, but it is possible that there is such a thing as telepathy and that the CETI proj…"
— Philip K. Dick"Maybe Klopp is the best manager in the world at creating teams who attack I don’t think there is another te…"
— Jürgen Klopp"Being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing, and is far more unpleasant. Being selective - …"
— Timothy Ferriss
Related Thinkers
Related Topics
Deep Dives
- Albert Einstein on philosophy
- Stephen Jay Gould on philosophy
- Carl Sagan on philosophy
- Charles Darwin on philosophy
- Michael Parenti on philosophy
- Galileo Galilei on philosophy
- Giordano Bruno on philosophy
- J. R. Partington on philosophy
- Albert Einstein on life
- Albert Einstein on science
- knowledge & Beauty
- knowledge & Change

