Deflection magnetometer is a instrument

used to measure the magnetic moment and

polar strength of a bar magnet. It is also
used to compare the pole strength of two
bar magnets.

The deflection magnetometer consists of a

large compass box with a small magnetic
needle pivoted at the center of a circular
scale so that the needle is free to rotate in a
horizontal plane .

A large aluminium pointer is rigidly fixed

perpendicular to the magnetic needle. The
circular scale is graduated in degrees. (0-0)
and (90-90) readings are marked at the ends
of two perpendicular diameters. The
compass box is placed at the center of a
wooden board one meter long. The wooden
board has a millimeter scale along its axis.
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The zero of this scale is at the center of the
compass box.
The horizontal component of earth's
magnetic field, BH, is the component of
the magnetic field of the earth along a
horizontal plane whose normal vector
passes through the center of the earth.
BH is measured in Tesla, T.

The magnetic dipole moment m of a

magnetic dipole is the property of the
dipole which tends to align the dipole
parallel to an external magnetic field. m
is measured in Ampere-square meters
(A m2) or, equivalently, in Joules per
Tesla (J/T).

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 Consider a bar magnet with magnetic moment m,
suspended horizontally in a region where there are
two perpendicular horizontal magnetic fields, and
external field B and the horizontal component of the
earth’s field BH. If no external magnetic field B is
present, the bar magnet will align with BH. Due to
the field B, the magnet experiences a torque τD ,
called the deflecting torque, which tends to deflect
it from its original orientation parallel to BH. If θ is
the angle between the bar magnet and BH, the
magnitude of the deflecting torque will be,
ΤD=mBcosθ
The bar magnet experiences a torque τR due to the
field BH which tends to restore it to its original
orientation parallel to BH. This torque is known as
the restoring torque, and it has magnitude.
ΤR= mBHsinθ
The suspended magnet is in equilibrium when,
ΤD=Τr

mBHsinθ = mBsinθ

B= BHtanθ

The above relation, called the tangent law, gives the

equilibrium orientation of5a magnet suspended in a
region with two mutually perpendicular fields.
In Tan A position prior to placement of the
magnet, the compass box is rotated so that
the (0-0) line is parallel to the arm of the
magnetometer. Then the magnetometer as
a whole is rotated till pointer reads (0-0).
Finally, the bar magnet (the same one that
was previously suspended in the Vibration
Magnetometer) is placed horizontally,
parallel to the arm of the deflection
magnetometer, at a distance d chosen so
that the deflection of the aluminum pointer
is between 30° and 60°.

The magnet is a dipole. Suppose that,

analogous to an electric dipole, there are
two magnetic poles P (though in reality
no single magnetic pole can exist), one
positive and one negative, separated by a
distance L = 2l, with the positive pole
labeled N and the negative pole labeled
S. By analogy with Coulomb’s law, for
each pole we would have a field.

and a magnetic dipole moment

m=PL=2Pl
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where l = L/2 is the half-length of the magnet

m = magnetic moment of the magnet

4π x 10-7 TmA-1 - the magnetic permeability of

free space,

θ = deflection of aluminium pointer.

Therefore, by the tangent law, at equilibrium

Solving for m/BH we get:

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The magnetic field at a point along the equatorial
line of a bar magnet is perpendicular to the
horizontal component of Earths magnetic field. If
the magnetometer and a bar magnet are placed in
such way that this condition is satisfied, then this
arrangement is called Tan B position.
To achieve this, the arms of the deflection
magnetometer are placed along the North - South
direction i.e. along the magnetic meridian. The
magnet is placed along East - West direction i.e.
parallel to the aluminium pointer as shown in the
Fig.. When a bar
magnet of
magnetic moment
M and length 2l is
placed at a
distance d from
the centre of the
magnetic needle,
the needle gets
deflected through
an angle θ due to
the action of the
following two
magnetic fields.
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(i) The field B due to the bar magnet along its
equatorial line

(ii)The horizontal component of Earth’s magnetic

field Bh.

The magnetic field at a distance d along the

equatorial line of the bar magnet,

According to tangent law

B = Bh tan θ
Therefore:

if the magnet is short, l is small compared to d

and hence l 2 is neglected.
Therefore:

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The Gauss A and B positions; that is, a point
on the axis of a bar magnet is in Gauss A
position, and a point on the magnetic equator
of the magnet is in Gauss B position, with
respect to the magnet.

DEFLECTION MAGNETOMETER IS USED

TO –

[1] COMPARE MAGNETIC MOMENTS

[2] COMPARE EARTH’S MAGNETIC

INDUCTIONS

[3] VERIFY INVERSE SQUARE LAW

[4] DETERMINE THE HORIZONTAL

CONSTITUENT OF THE EARTH’S
MAGNETIC INDUCTION.

[5] MINERAL EXPLORATION

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The calibration of magnetometers is
usually performed by means of coils
which are supplied by an electrical
current to create a magnetic field. It
allows to characterize the sensitivity of
the magnetometer (in terms of V/T). In
many applications the homogeneity of
the calibration coil is an important
feature. For this reason, coils like
Helmholtz coils is commonly used either
in a single axis or a three axis
configuration. For demanding
applications high homogeneity magnetic
field is mandatory, in such cases
magnetic field calibration can be
performed using Maxwell coil cosine
coils, or calibration in the highly
homogenous earths magnetic field.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 www.google.com
 www.quora.com
 www.brainkart.com
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.meritnation.com
AND THIS PROJECT
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