NMR Instrument

Every NMR instrument contains several important parts.  A powerful magnet is required to induce the separation between spin-up nuclei and spin-down nuclei.  The magnet surrounds a vertical cavity in which the NMR sample is placed.  A probe within the vertical cavity transmits the radio frequency required to spin-flip the nuclei.  The probe also receives the quanta of energy associated with the relaxation of the nuclei to their original spin-state.  This information is transmitted to the NMR console as an electrical signal called an FID (Free Induction Decay).  The computer attached to the NMR console mathematically converts the FID to a spectrum using FT (Fourier Transform).

The sources below contain more information regarding NMR instruments and have nice schematics of the instrument itself.

Agilent Instruments

Linde Gas – has schematics of both a CW (continuous wave) NMR and an FT (Fourier Transform) NMR.

Youtube videos:

Basics of NMR by Royal Chemical Society – nine minute video reviewing all the basics of 1H NMR including the instrumentation.