Physics of polarized targets

For developing, building and operating solid polarized targets we need to understand several fields of physics that have seen sub stantial advances during the last 50 years. W e shall briefly review a selection of those that are important today. These are: 1) quantum statistical methods to describe saturation and relaxation in magnetic resonance; 2) equal spin temperature model for dy namic nuclear polarization; 3 ) weak saturation during NMR polarization measurement; 4 ) refrigeration using the quantum fluid properties of helium isotopes. These, combined with superconducting magnet technologies, permit today to reach nearly complete pola rization of almost any nuclear spins. Targets can be operated in frozen spin mode in rather low and inhomogeneous field of any orientation, and in DNP mode in beams of high intensity. Beyond such experiments of nuclear and particle physics, applications a re also emerging in macromolecular chemistry and in magnetic resonance imaging. This talk is a tribute to Michel Borghini, whom we remember for his work on the equal spin temperature model at CERN, and to Franz Lehar, who promoted the frozen spin target te chnique and applied it in a long series of nucleon - nucleon scattering experiments in Saclay