The magnetic properties are measured four times as the sample rotates. A dedicated computer collects and interprets the data. The machine and the room were made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation and from private funds that helped to equip the Dow building. The instrument without the room would be sort of crazy, so Tech increased its cost-share and funded the room. In a room where you test for magnetic properties, all of your equipment must be non-magnetic.
Storage cabinets have no metal hardware.
No magnetic materials could enter the room, at a time when labs in the new building were still under construction. There has been a renewed interest in magnetic properties as scientists have discovered a connection with climate change. Magnetic properties tend to be quicker responders to climate change, in some cases. While they have done extensive work in the Great Lakes region over the years, the Diehls have also benefitted from recent renewed interest in Lake Superior. We can open up the cores and do a sub-sampling of a cube of mud.