Does the inverse square rule work with a magnetic field?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the intensity of magnetic fields, particularly in the context of mini magnetospheres. It highlights that while an elemental current element follows the inverse square law, real magnetic fields from concatenated current elements do not, often exhibiting an inverse cube dependence due to their dipole nature. The complexity of magnetic field calculations is emphasized, as factors such as direction and source geometry significantly affect field strength. Participants suggest that measuring the field is often more practical than calculating it, and they reference advanced concepts like the leading-order multipole expansion and Hamiltonian mechanics for further analysis. Overall, understanding the behavior of magnetic fields requires a nuanced approach beyond simple distance-based equations.
TheAnt
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I am interested in mini magnetospheres. How do i calculate the intensity of the field at a certain distance if i already know theits intensity at the source?
 
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An elemental current element produces a magnetic field that obeys the inverse square law. However real magnetic fields produced by a concatenation current elements or modeled as such result in fields that do not obey the ISL. In fact magnetic fields are produced by dipoles which have an inverse cube dependence for example a current in a loop of wire. These dipole fields also have an angular dependence with respect to the axis of symmetry of the dipole. For extensive sources the dependences can be more complex.
 
gleem said:
An elemental current element

What is an elemental current element?

TheAnt said:
I am interested in mini magnetospheres. How do i calculate the intensity of the field at a certain distance if i already know theits intensity at the source?

Calculating the strength of a magnetic field from a real source is not trivial. Many people simply end up measuring it instead of calculating it. As gleem said, the strength of the field is not simply a function of distance, but also of direction (strength at distance R from a pole is different than at distance R from the side). So there's not really a simple equation that will tell you the strength at a particular distance.
 
The leading-order multipole expansion of the magnetic field is the dipole field which goes like ##1/r^3## for ##r \rightarrow \infty##.
 
Thank you very much for the answers
 
by the way it is a good task to integrate the problem of planar motion of a particle in the gravity field of the dipole and describe the motion of the particle
 
wrobel said:
by the way it is a good task to integrate the problem of planar motion of a particle in the gravity field of the dipole and describe the motion of the particle
totally agree...use the lagrangian transformation
 
did not understand your suggestion
 
  • #10
Actually this problem is integrated as follows. In suitable polar coordinates the Hamiltonian is
$$H=\frac{1}{2m}\Big(p^2_r+\frac{p^2_\varphi}{r^2}\Big)+\frac{k\cos\varphi}{r^2}.$$
It is easy to see that the variables are separated:
$$H=\frac{p^2_r}{2m}+\frac{1}{2r^2}F;$$
here ##F=p^2_\varphi/m+2k\cos\varphi## is a first integral: ##\{F,H\}=0##
 
  • #11
wrobel said:
Actually this problem is integrated as follows. In suitable polar coordinates the Hamiltonian is
$$H=\frac{1}{2m}\Big(p^2_r+\frac{p^2_\varphi}{r^2}\Big)+\frac{k\cos\varphi}{r^2}.$$
It is easy to see that the variables are separated:
$$H=\frac{p^2_r}{2m}+\frac{1}{2r^2}F;$$
here ##F=p^2_\varphi/m+2k\cos\varphi## is a first integral: ##\{F,H\}=0##

Hamiltonian...of course...sorry
 

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