Nuclear magneton

The nuclear magneton (symbol μ_N), is a physical constant of magnetic moment, defined in SI units by:

and in Gaussian CGS units by:

where:

e is the elementary charge,

ħ is the reduced Planck constant,

m_p is the proton rest mass, and

c is the speed of light

In SI units, its value is approximately:

μ_N = 5.05078324(13)×10⁻²⁷ J/T

In Gaussian CGS units, its value can be given in convenient units as

μ_N = 0.105155 e fm

The nuclear magneton is the natural unit for expressing magnetic dipole moments of heavy particles such as nucleons and atomic nuclei. On the contrary, the dipole moment of an electron, which is much higher as a consequence of much higher charge-to-mass ratio, is usually expressed in corresponding units of the Bohr magneton (a unit 1836.2 times larger than the nuclear magneton).

See also

• Proton magnetic moment
• Neutron magnetic moment
• Bohr magneton

External links

• Nuclear magneton, value from CODATA