Chemical Sciences: A Manual for CSIR-UGC National Eligibility Test for Lectureship and JRF/Magic angle

The magic angle is a precisely defined angle, the value of which is approximately 54.7°. The magic angle is a root of a second-order Legendre polynomial, , and so any interaction which depends on this second-order Legendre polynomial vanishes at the magic angle. This property makes the magic angle of particular importance in solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Mathematical definition thumb|250px|Magic angle The magic angle θm is , where arccos and arctan are the inverse cosine and tangent functions respectively. θm is the angle between the space diagonal of a cube and any of its three connecting edges, see image. Magic angle and dipolar coupling In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the dipolar coupling D in a strong magnetic field depends on the orientation of the internuclear vector with the external magnetic field by Hence, two nuclei with an internuclear vector at an angle of θm to a strong external magnetic field, have zero dipolar coupling, D(θm)=0. Magic angle spinning is a technique in solid-state NMR spectroscopy which employs this principle to remove or reduce dipolar couplings, thereby increasing spectral resolution. Application to medical imaging: The magic angle artifact The magic angle artifact refers to the increased signal on sequences with short echo time (TE) (e.g., T1 or PD Spin Echo sequences ) in MR images seen in tissues with well-ordered collagen fibers in one direction (e.g., tendon or articular hyaline cartilage).Bydder M, Rahal A, Fullerton G, Bydder G The magic angle effect: a source of artifact, determinant of image contrast, and technique for imaging Journal of magnetic resonance imaging 25 2 290–300 2007 17260400 10.1002/jmri.20850 This artifact occurs when the angle such fibers make with the magnetic field is equal to . Example: This artifact comes into play when evaluating the rotator cuff tendons of the shoulder. The magic angle effect can create the appearance of supraspinatus tendinitis. References