Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), also known as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, is a technique for creating detailed images of the human body.
The human body is mostly water. Water molecules (H20) contain hydrogen nuclei (protons), which become aligned in a magnetic field. An MRI scanner applies a very strong magnetic field (about 0.2 to 3 Teslas, or roughly a thousand times the strength of a typical fridge magnet), which aligns the proton "spins."
The scanner also produces a radio frequency current that creates a varying magnetic field. The protons absorb the energy from the variable field and flip their spins. When the field is turned off, the protons gradually return to their normal spin, a process called precession. The return process produces a radio signal that can be measured by receivers in the scanner and made into an image.
What is an MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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