SINGLE-POINT H-1 MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING OF RIGID SOLIDS

Although it is still widely assumed that H-1 magnetic resonance imagin g of large samples is limited to relatively mobile liquid-like materia ls, recent implementation of a method known as Single Point Imaging (S PI) allows one to directly image rigid solids over sample sire ranges that make the method potentially very valuable for routine application to numerous industrially relevant problems. In this preliminary summa ry we dwell in detail on the experimental advantages and limitations o f the technique to put its capabilities in perspective. Applications t o a diverse selection of semicrystalline solids are presented to illus trate the potential of the method for the characterization of polymers and food products.