magnetic moment

noun

: a vector quantity that is a measure of the torque exerted on a magnetic system (such as a bar magnet or dipole) when placed in a magnetic field and that for a magnet is the product of the distance between its poles and the strength of either pole

Examples of magnetic moment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This phenomenon, in which particles’ magnetic moments point in alternating directions, was previously viewed as too regular to manifest in the nonrepeating structure of quasicrystals. —Patchen Barss, Quanta Magazine, 18 Aug. 2025

But scientists had never before been able to measure the oscillation of the magnetic moment of single protons or antiprotons—or of any other fundamental particles. —Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 28 July 2025

Combine that with new predictions by the related Muon g-2 Theory Initiative using a new means of calculating the muon's magnetic moment, and the discrepancy between theoretical prediction and experiment narrows even further. —ArsTechnica, 30 June 2025

When many electrons with identical spins are close together, their magnetic moments can align and join forces to form a larger magnetic field. —IEEE Spectrum, 12 Jan. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for magnetic moment

• enrolment

Medical Definition

magnetic moment

noun

magnetic mo·​ment -ˈmō-mənt 

: a vector quantity that is a measure of the torque exerted on a magnetic system (as a bar magnet or dipole) when placed in a magnetic field and that for a magnet is the product of the distance between its poles and the strength of either pole