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The magnetic field of a current loop. The ring represents the current loop, which goes into the page at the x and comes out at the dot. In classical physics, the magnetic field of a dipole is calculated as the limit of either a current loop or a pair of charges as the source shrinks to a point while keeping the magnetic moment m constant.
A theoretical magnetic point dipole has a magnetic field of exactly the same form as the electric field of an electric point dipole. A very small current-carrying loop is approximately a magnetic point dipole; the magnetic dipole moment of such a loop is the product of the current flowing in the loop and the (vector) area of the loop.
Magnetic field lines around a "magnetostatic dipole". The magnetic dipole itself is located in the center of the figure, seen from the side, and pointing upward. Any system possessing a net magnetic dipole moment m will produce a dipolar magnetic field (described below) in the space surrounding the system.
More precisely, the term magnetic moment normally refers to a system's magnetic dipole moment, which produces the first term in the multipole expansion [note 1] of a general magnetic field. Both the torque and force exerted on a magnet by an external magnetic field are proportional to that magnet's magnetic moment.
The dipole model of the Earth's magnetic field is a first order approximation of the rather complex true Earth's magnetic field. Due to effects of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and the solar wind , the dipole model is particularly inaccurate at high L-shells (e.g., above L=3), but may be a good approximation for lower L-shells.
The magnetic field of permanent magnets can be quite complicated, especially near the magnet. The magnetic field of a small [note 6] straight magnet is proportional to the magnet's strength (called its magnetic dipole moment m). The equations are non-trivial and depend on the distance from the magnet and the orientation of the magnet.
Magnetic dipole–dipole interaction, also called dipolar coupling, refers to the direct interaction between two magnetic dipoles.Roughly speaking, the magnetic field of a dipole goes as the inverse cube of the distance, and the force of its magnetic field on another dipole goes as the first derivative of the magnetic field.
In classical electromagnetism, magnetization is the vector field that expresses the density of permanent or induced magnetic dipole moments in a magnetic material. Accordingly, physicists and engineers usually define magnetization as the quantity of magnetic moment per unit volume. [1]