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Physics LibreTexts

6.9: The Magnetic Field H

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If you look at the various formulas for the magnetic field B near various geometries of conductor, such as equations 6.5.3, 6.6.2, 6.7.1, 6.8.4, you will see that there is always a μ on the right hand side. It is often convenient to define a quantity H=B/μ. Then these equations become just

H=I2πa,

H=I2a,

H=NIa22(1[a2+(cx)2]3/2+1[a2+(c+x)2]3/2),

H=nI.

It is easily seen from any of these equations that the SI units of Hare A m1, or amps per metre, and the dimensions are QT1M1.

Of course the magnetic field, whether represented by the quantity B or by H, is a vector quantity, and the relation between the two representations can be written

B=μH.

In an isotropic medium B and H are parallel, but in an anisotropic medium they are not parallel (except in the directions of the eigenvectors of the permeability tensor), and permeability is a tensor. This was discussed in section 1.7.1 with respect to the equation D=ϵE.


This page titled 6.9: The Magnetic Field H is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jeremy Tatum via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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