this field strength in proportion to their nuclear magnetic moments. Sample handling An NMR spectrometer typically consists of a spinning sample-holder inside a very strong magnet, a radio-frequency emitter, and a receiver with a probe (an antenna assembly) that goes inside the magnet to surround the sample, optionally gradient coils for diffusion measurements, and electronics to control the system. Spinning the sample is usually necessary to average out diffusional motion, however some experiments call for a stationary sample when solution movement is an important variable. For instance, measurements of diffusion constants (diffusion ordered spectroscopy or DOSY) are done using a stationary sample with spinning off, and flow cells can be used for online analysis of process flows. Deuterated solvents The vast majority of molecules in a solution are solvent molecules, and most regular solvents are hydrocarbons and so contain NMR-active protons. In order to avoid detecting only signals from solvent hydrogen atoms, deuterated solvents are used where 99+% of the protons are replaced with deuterium (hydrogen-2). The most widely used deuterated solvent is deuterochloroform (CDCl3), although other solvents may be used for various reasons, such as solubility of a sample, desire to control hydrogen bonding, or melting or boiling points. The chemical shifts of a molecule will change slightly between solvents, and the solvent used will almost always be reported with chemical shifts. NMR spectra are often calibrated against the known solvent residual proton peak instead of added tetramethylsilane. Shim and lock To detect the very small frequency shifts due to nuclear magnetic resonance, the applied magnetic field must be constant throughout the sample volume. High resolution NMR spectrometers use shims to adjust the homogeneity of the magnetic field to parts per billion (ppb) in a volume of a few cubic centimeters. In order to detect and compensate for inhomogeneity and drift in the magnetic field, the spectrometer maintains a "lock" on the solvent deuterium frequency with a separate lock unit, which is essentially an additional transmitter and RF processor tuned to the lock nucleus (deuterium) rather than the nuclei of the sample of interest. In modern NMR spectrometers shimming is adjusted automatically, though in some cases the operator has to optimize the shim parameters manually to obtain the best possible resolution Acquisition of spectra Upon excitation of the sample with a radio frequency (60–1000 MHz) pulse, a nuclear magnetic resonance response - a free induction decay (FID) - is