Magnet traveling through a conducting pipe: a variation on the analytical approach

TL;DR

This paper provides an analytical model for the magnetic damping effect experienced by a neodymium magnet moving through a conducting pipe, with results validated against experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a fully analytical approach to describe the electromagnetic damping of a magnet in a conducting tube, leveraging the uniform magnetization of neodymium magnets.

Findings

Analytical expressions match experimental data well.

The model accurately predicts the retarding force on the magnet.

High uniformity of magnetization simplifies the analysis.

Abstract

We present an analytical study of magnetic damping. In particular, we investigate the dynamics of a cylindrical neodymium magnet as it moves through a conducting tube. Owing to the very high degree of uniformity of the magnetization for neodymium magnets, we are able to provide completely analytical results for the EMF generated in the pipe, and the consequent retarding force. Our analytical expressions are shown to have excellent agreement with experimental observations.