The flow of cohesive powder occurs by the formation of shear planes or zones. How these form and how particles microscopically behave in a shear zone is fundamental for understanding powder flow. In this work Neutron Depolarization has been used to study in-line particles in a powder sample. The Neutron Depolarization technique gives a unique insight in the particle rotations and width of the shear zone. It has been shown that rotation of particles during a normal consolidation becomes less when the sample is more compacted. Shear displacement experiments showed that particles rotate in a preferred direction. The width of the region in which the preferred rotation takes place is found to be at least 1000 to 2000 particle diameters. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.