Magnetometer

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AN EXTERNAL MAGNETIC FIELD COMPRISING A PARAMAGNETIC MATERIAL HAVING A SINGLE MAGNECTIC RESONANCE ABSORPTION LINE THE WIDTH OF WHICH EXPRESSED IN MAGNETIC FIELD INTENSITY UNITS, IS 0.1 TO 10 TIMES THE ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM VALUE OF THE EXTERNAL PEAK RESONANCE MEASURED, SAID RESONANCE LINE EXHIBITING PEAK RESONANCE ABSORPTION VALUES SYMMETRICALLY DISPOSED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A MINIMUM ABSORPTION VALUE, RESONANCE ABSORPTION STRUCTURE COMPRISING FIRST GENERATOR MEANS FOR IMPOSING ON SAID MATERIAL A FIRST ALTERNATING MAGNETIC FIELD AT A FIRST FREQUENCY LARGER THAN SAID LINE WIDTH EXPRESSED IN FREQUENCY UNITS, AND SECOND MEANS FOR IMPOSING ON SAID MATERIAL A SECOND ALTERNATING MAGNETIC FIELD AT A FREQUENCY LOWER THAN SAID FIRST FREQUENCY, AND ORIENTED SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FIRST ALTERNATING FIELD, MEANS FOR ADJUSTING SAID SECOND ALTERNATING FIELD TO SYMMETRICALLY SWEEP SAID RESONANCE LINE THROUGH SAID MINIMUM ABSORPTION VALUE, SAID SECOND ALTERNATING FIELD BEING ADAPTED TO DEFINE WITH SAID EXTERNAL FIELD, A RESULTANT SWEEP FIELD ON SAID MATERIAL ASYMMETRICALLY BIASED WITH RESPECT TO SAID MINIMUM ABSORPTION VALUE BY AN AMOUNT DEPENDENT ON THE MAGNITUDE OF SAID FIELD TO BE MEASURED, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID RESONANCE ABSORPTION STRUCTURE FOR DETECTING CORRESPONDING ASYMMETRIC VARIATIONS IN THE RESONANCE ABSORPTION OF SAID MATERIAL AS A MEASURE OF SAID EXTERNAL FIELD.