Larmor precession

Larmor precession [′lär·mȯr prē‚sesh·ən]

(electromagnetism)

A common rotation superposed upon the motion of a system of charged particles, all having the same ration of charge to mass, by a magnetic field.

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Larmor precession

A precession in a magnetic field of the motion of charged particles or of particles possessing magnetic moments.

The Larmor theorem states that, for electrons moving in a single central field of force, the motion in a uniform magnetic field H is, to first order in H, the same as a possible motion in the absence of H except for the superposition of a common precession of angular frequency given by Eq. (1).

(1) 

Here e/c is the magnitude of the electronic charge in electromagnetic units, and m is the electronic mass. The frequency &ohgr;_L is called the Larmor frequency and is numerically equal to 2&pgr; times 1.40 MHz per oersted or 2&pgr; times 111 MHz per SI unit of magnetic field strength (ampere-turn per meter). See Precession

In stating the Larmor theorem, use was made of the phrase “a possible motion.” If H is applied sufficiently slowly, it can be proved that the motion is the same as in the absence of H, except for the superposition of the Larmor precession. However, a sudden application of H may change, for example, a circular orbit into an elliptical one.

According to elementary electromagnetic theory, a current loop of area A and of current I possesses a magnetic moment μ of magnitude IA and of direction normal to the loop. Thus an electron moving in a circular orbit has an orbital magnetic moment.

The electron also has orbital angular momentum, which by quantum theory must equal ℏJ, where J is an integer and ℏ is Planck's constant h divided by 2&pgr;. In terms of the equivalent magnetic moment, Eq. (1) may be written in the form of

(2) 

Eq. (2). In this form the Larmor precession is exhibited by any magnetic moment μ including magnetic moments associated with spin angular momentum as well as those associated with orbital angular momentum. In this form the Larmor precession applies to experiments in molecular beams, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). See Angular momentum, Electron spin, Magnetic resonance