Due to the angular momentum, the dynamics of a magnetic dipole in a magnetic field differs from that of an electric dipole in an electric field. The field does exert a torque on the magnetic dipole tending to align it with the field. However, torque is proportional to rate of change of angular momentum, so precession occurs: the direction of spin changes. This behavior is described by the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation : 1 γ γ d m d t = m × × H eff − − λ λ γ γ m m × × d m d t where γ is the gyromagnetic ratio, m is the magnetic moment, λ is the damping coefficient and H eff is the effective magnetic field (the external field plus any self-induced field). The first term describes precession of the moment about the effective field, while the second is a damping term related to dissipation of energy caused by interaction with the surroundings.