H-field
It is sometimes useful to model the force and torques between two magnets as due to magnetic poles repelling or attracting each other in the same manner as the Coulomb force between electric charges. In this model, a magnetic H-field is produced by magnetic charges that are 'smeared' around each pole. The H-field, therefore, is analogous to the electric field E which starts at a positive electric charge and ends at a negative electric charge. Near the north pole, therefore, all H-field lines point away from the north pole (whether inside the magnet or out) while near the south pole (whether inside the magnet or out) all H-field lines point toward the south pole. A north pole, then, feels a force in the direction of the H-field while the force on the south pole is opposite to the H-field.
In the magnetic pole model, the elementary magnetic dipole m is formed by two opposite magnetic poles of pole strength qm separated by a very small distance vector d, such that m = qm d.
Unfortunately, magnetic poles cannot exist apart from each other; all magnets have north/south pairs which cannot be separated without creating two magnets each having a north/south pair. Further, magnetic poles do not account for magnetism that is produced by electric currents nor the force that a magnetic field applies to moving electric charges.
