Let be the magnetic moment, and the moment of inertia of the magnet and suspended apparatus,
.
(2)
If the time of the passage of the current is very small, we may integrate with respect to during this short time without regarding the change of , and we find
.
(3)
This shews that the passage of the quantity produces an angular momentum in the magnet, where is the value of at the instant of passage of the current. If the magnet is initially in equilibrium, we may make .
The magnet then swings freely and reaches an elongation . If there is no resistance, the work done against the magnetic force during this swing is .
The energy communicated to the magnet by the current is
.
Equating these quantities, we find
,
(4)
whence
by (3).
(5)
But if be the time of a single vibration of the magnet,
,
(6)
and we find
,
(7)
where is the horizontal magnetic force, the coefficient of the galvanometer, the time of a single vibration, and the first elongation of the magnet.
749.] In many actual experiments the elongation is a small angle, and it is then easy to take into account the effect of resistance, for we may treat the equation of motion as a linear equation.
Let the magnet be at rest at its position of equilibrium, let an angular velocity be communicated to it instantaneously, and let its first elongation be .