Magnetic Dipole

Short Description of Topic Claimed by Jae Hyun Kim

The Main Idea

Dipole often occurs when there is a separation of charges, whether that be in a microscopic basis or macroscopic basis. When there are two separate poles of magnetism, a magnetic dipole forms, causing a unique pattern of magnetic field.

A Mathematical Model

The main equation for a magnetic dipole is:

where I is the current, and A is the cross sectional area.

The 2nd part of the equation is specifically for loop field induced magnetic dipole and its area is naturally the area of a circle using the radius.

From this equation, we can deduce the magnetic dipole moments just knowing the conventional current flowing through the loop and the radius.

However, most of the time the current is not given. Furthermore, the equation is not applicable for the normal magnets that we see on life, for they do not have a electrical current flowing through. Thus, another way to get the dipole moment is by using the relationship between the magnetic dipole and the magnetic field induced by the dipole.

There are two equations based on the observation location.

If the observation location is perpendicularly placed, meaning that the object is along the y axis of the dipole like the image below,

then the equation for the magnetic field induced by the dipole is:

If the observation location is placed along the X axis like the image below

then the equation for the magnetic field induced by the dipole is:

The first part of the equation is the constant, 1E-7, and the other part of the equation requires the magnetic dipole and the distance between the observation location and the dipole denoted by r.

The most common form of problem using the magnetic dipole is as follows:

First, you would be given a compass and its deflection due to a magnet. Using this, you are able to figure out the magnetic field induced from the dipole using the equation:

File:Bearth.jpg

where B earth is usually given to be 2E-5. Then, you will be able to calculate the magnetic field.

Using this magnetic field, you will be asked to calculate the magnetic dipole. The rest is simple; depending whether your compass was located perpendicularly or along the axis, you can choose which equation to use and plug in the values and solve for the magnetic dipole moment.

It is also important to note the direction of the dipole moment. The direction of the dipole moment points North in a magnet:

On the other hand, if you are looking at the dipole moment induced by a current-flowing loop, you have to use the right hand rule, make the hand curl in the direction of the current. The direction of your thumb will be the magnetic dipole moment induced from the current.

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