Article
Article
Magnetometer
Article By:
McWilliams, Michael O. Department of Geophysics, School of Earth Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.399600
An instrument that measures the magnitude and/or direction of a magnetic field. A magnetometer can be either a scalar instrument that measures the magnitude of the total field or a vector instrument that measures one or more vector components of the field. Some magnetometers are relative devices that are calibrated with respect to a known field. Others are absolute devices that yield magnetic-field values without calibration. Arrays of magnetometers can be configured as gradiometers that suppress or enhance far-field magnetic sources while enhancing or suppressing near-field sources. Magnetometer technology is available for detecting a range of magnetic fields (Fig. 1).
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