Magnetic field sha
- An azimuthal magnetic field is one that runs east-west.
- A meridional magnetic field is one that runs north-south. In the solar dynamo model of the Sun, differential rotation of the solar plasma causes the meridional magnetic field to stretch into an azimuthal magnetic field, a process called the omega-effect. The reverse process is called the alpha-effect.[34]
- A dipole magnetic field is one seen around a bar magnet or around a charged elementary particle with nonzero spin.
- A quadrupole magnetic field is one seen, for example, between the poles of four bar magnets. The field strength grows linearly with the radial distance from its longitudinal axis.
- A solenoidal magnetic field is similar to a dipole magnetic field, except that a solid bar magnet is replaced by a hollow electromagnetic coil magnet.
- A toroidal magnetic field occurs in a doughnut-shaped coil, the electric current spiraling around the tube-like surface, and is found, for example, in a tokamak.
- A poloidal magnetic field is generated by a current flowing in a ring, and is found, for example, in a tokamak.
- A radial magnetic field is one in which the field lines are directed from the center outwards, similar to the spokes in a bicycle wheel. An example can be found in a loudspeaker transducers (driver).[35]
- A helical magnetic field is corkscrew-shaped, and sometimes seen in space plasmas such as the Orion Molecular Cloud.
