Quench & Drift Lab

A hot-state signal relaxes the moment treatment ends. The in-situ observer reads it at t = 0; the ex-situ observer reads whatever survives the journey.

Time-zero reference100.0 a.u., at t = 0
Ex-situ measured100.0 a.u.
Signal lost0% measured in place
time-zero reference (t = 0)ex-situ signal (decaying with transfer time)
0 min

Schematic single-exponential relaxation M(t) = M + (M0 − M)·e−t/τ with a 25-minute teaching τ toward a 20% residual. This is a single-exponential model; real systems may show multiple relaxation times, intermediates or irreversible pathways, and relaxation times range from “effectively never” to seconds — and are usually unknown in advance, which is the argument for looking in place first.