Book excerpt: Relaxation in Magnetic Resonance contains a series of lecture notes for a special topics course at the University of South Carolina in 1967. This book contains 21 chapters that summarize the main theoretical formulations and experimental results of magnetic resonance relaxation phenomena in several physical systems. This text deals first with the various methods in determining the relaxation behavior of the macroscopic spin system, such as Bloch equations, saturation methods, and transient resonant absorption. The subsequent chapters discuss the homogeneous and inhomogeneous resonant lines in solids and liquids and the significance of the Kubo-Tomita and Redfield theories in magnetic resonance. This book then considers the background research on electron spin resonance and relaxation in ionic solids. The concluding chapters explore the acoustic absorption coefficient and dielectric constant calculation; the relaxation processes in paramagnetic substance; and the characteristics of Mössbauer spectra and their application in magnetic relaxation. This book will be useful to both graduate students embarking upon thesis problems in relaxation and more advanced workers who seek an overall summary of the status of the field, as well as to physicists and chemists.