Probe - Tracer

The tracer probe calculates a magnetic field line. To make a planar probe choose menu command

Config > Make probe > Tracer

By definition, a magnetic field line is tangent to the magnetic field everywhere along its length. The means that the differential equation for the shape of a field line is:

fieldLineMotion

where s is the path length along the field line. The tracer object uses the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method to perform the numerical integration. The starting point of the field line is specified by the user.

Specification tab

Here the user specifies the step size for the numerical integration and the total path length that will be traced.

editTracerSpecs

Position tab

The field line starts at the origin in object coordinates, which in laboratory coordinates is specified by the position parameters x, y, and z.

editTracerPosition

Looks tab

editTracerLooks

Export

Once the field line is calculated, you can export the path of the field line and the magnetic inductance (B) along the path by opening the edit window for the field line and selecting Export... from the File menu (see the export page for details).