Starting from the Lorentz force law acting on a current distribution J obeying ∇⋅J=0, show that the energy of a magnetic dipole m in the presence of a time independent magnetic field B is
U=−m⋅B
State clearly any approximations you make.
[You may use without proof the fact that
∫(a⋅r)J(r)dV=−21a×∫(r×J(r))dV
for any constant vector a, and the identity
(b×∇)×c=∇(b⋅c)−b(∇⋅c)
which holds when b is constant.]
A beam of slowly moving, randomly oriented magnetic dipoles enters a region where the magnetic field is
B=z^B0+(yx^+xy^)B1,
with B0 and B1 constants. By considering their energy, briefly describe what happens to those dipoles that are parallel to, and those that are anti-parallel to the direction of B.