Gradiometer, Magnetic

a magnetometer for measuring increases (gradients) of a component of magnetic field intensity in a given direction. (The principles of operation of magnetic gradiometers of various types are examined in the article MAGNETOMETER .) Magnetic gradiometers are used in research of the structure of the earth’s magnetosphere and of magnetic fields of other cosmic bodies, in prospecting for minerals (particularly in aeromagnetic surveying), in magnetic flaw detectors, and in measuring magnetic field gradients in synchrotrons and other charged particle accelerators.