Helmholtz coil

A Helmholtz coil is a device for producing a region of nearly uniform magnetic field, named after the German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz. It consists of two electromagnets on the same axis, carrying an equal electric current in the same direction. Besides creating magnetic fields, Helmholtz coils are also used in scientific apparatus to cancel external magnetic fields, such as the Earth's magnetic field. When the pair of two electromagnetics of a Helmholtz coil carry an equal electric current in the opposite direction, it is known as anti-Helmholtz coil, which creates a region of nearly uniform magnetic field gradient, and is used for creating magnetic traps for atomic physics experiments. A Helmholtz pair consists of two identical circular magnetic coils that are placed symmetrically along a common axis, one on each side of the experimental area, and separated by a distance equal to the radius of the coil. Each coil carries an equal electric current in the same direction. Setting , which is what defines a Helmholtz pair, minimizes the nonuniformity of the field at the center of the coils, in the sense of setting (meaning that the first nonzero derivative is as explained below), but leaves about 7% variation in field strength between the center and the planes of the coils. A slightly larger value of reduces the difference in field between the center and the planes of the coils, at the expense of worsening the field's uniformity in the region near the center, as measured by . When a Helmholtz pair of coils carry an equal electric current in the opposite direction, they create a region of nearly uniform magnetic field gradient. This is known as anti-Helmholtz coil, and is used for creating magnetic traps for atomic physics experiments. In some applications, a Helmholtz coil is used to cancel out the Earth's magnetic field, producing a region with a magnetic field intensity much closer to zero. The calculation of the exact magnetic field at any point in space is mathematically complex and involves the study of Bessel functions.