The Natural Magnetism Group has the following facilities and equipment in the White City Lab:
- 1x 2G SQUID magnetometer (vertical).
- 4x spinner magnetometeers
- 1x Orion high-temperature low-field VSM (one of only 3 worldwide)
- 4x palaeomagnetic ovens (with heating options in He)
- 3 x Alternating field demagnetisers (maximum field 300 mT (highest available) + tumbling (better than static))
- Princeton Vibrating Sample Magnetometer with furnace. This is ideal for doing detailed rock magnetic analysis, using a method called FORCs (something I specialise in). This allows us to accurately quantify grain sizes etc. We also have the AGM option for this.
- Agico Kappa-bridge (susceptibility bridge) with high and low-temperature furnace, and anisotropy (AMS) option. We can look at Curie temperatures, low-temperature phases and magnetic fabrics with this.
- A range of other susceptibility metres, including an in-house core-logger.
In the SPIN-lab lab (in Imperial's Department of Materials); where Prof Adrian Muxworthy is a Co-I:
- A new (2019) Quantum Design Magnetic Properties Measurement System (MPMS). This uses SQUID technology to understand magnetic mineralogy and grain sizes (temperature range 1.8 to 1100 K, maximum field 9 T), examining transitions, e.g., Besnus transition in pyrrhotite at ~34 K.
- 2x Electron Paramagnetc Resonance EPR systems. These are not routinely employed in the earth sciences, but I've just started doing some measurements on some North Sea sediments, with interesting results.
Facilities Images
A Princeton Measurements dual-head AGM/VSM with furnace
Orion 3-axis vibrating sample magnetometer
Temp: 0-700°C
Field: <100 nT to 0.5 mT
Noise 0.5x10-9 Am2
AGICO JR5A spinner magnetometer
(inside dynamic Helmholtz cage)
Two ASC Scientific Palaeomagnetic Ovens with field coils
Petersen Instruments Variable Field Translation Balance (VFTB)
Automated Magnon Variable Frequency Susceptibility Meter (VFSM)
Automated susceptibility core-logger using a Bartington MS2C s usceptibility sensor
D-2000 High-Performance AF Demagnetizer (ASC Scientific)
Molspin Tumbling AF Demagnetizer
ASC Scientific Pulse Magnetizer
Molspin Minispin