Magnetic nodes

Numerous devices take advantage of the interaction forces induced by perman ent magnets. Indeed, three-dimensional methods enable one to solve this kin d of problem by discretizing space, but the times of computation required a re often extremely long. There are some analytical expressions allowing one to compute Fx-, Fy-, and Fz-forces interactions, (Akoun G and Yonnet J P 1 984 3D analytical calculation of the forces exerted between two cuboidal ma gnets IEEE Trans. Magn. 20 1962). The present paper shows that there is an underlying notion which supports the whole forces formulae and which introd uces the notion of magnetic node. These magnetic nodes are ideally suited f or parametric design and optimization.