How to introduce the magnetic dipole moment

We show how the concept of the magnetic dipole moment can be introduced in the same way as the concept of the electric dipole moment in introductory courses on electromagnetism. Considering a localized steady current distribution, we make a Taylor expansion directly in the Biot-Savart law to obtain,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of physics 2012-09, Vol.33 (5), p.1313-1320, Article 1313
Main Authors: Bezerra, M, Kort-Kamp, W J M, Cougo-Pinto, M V, Farina, C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biot-Savart law
Communication, education, history, and philosophy
Current distribution
Dipole moment
Electric dipoles
Electromagnetism
Energy
Equations (Mathematics)
Exact sciences and technology
General physics
Introductory Courses
magnetic dipole moment
Magnetic dipoles
Magnetic fields
Magnets
Physics
Physics literature and publications
Reviewing
Science Instruction
Scientific Concepts
Secondary School Science
Surveys and tutorial papers, resource letters
torque on a current loop
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Summary:We show how the concept of the magnetic dipole moment can be introduced in the same way as the concept of the electric dipole moment in introductory courses on electromagnetism. Considering a localized steady current distribution, we make a Taylor expansion directly in the Biot-Savart law to obtain, explicitly, the dominant contribution of the magnetic field at distant points, identifying the magnetic dipole moment of the distribution. We also present a simple but general demonstration of the torque exerted by a uniform magnetic field on a current loop of general form, not necessarily planar. For pedagogical reasons we start by reviewing briefly the concept of the electric dipole moment.
ISSN:0143-0807
1361-6404
DOI:10.1088/0143-0807/33/5/1313