Nondipole interaction between two uniformly magnetized spheres and its relation to superconducting levitation

Analytically solving the magnetostatic Maxwell equations in the bispherical coordinates, we calculate the magnetic field around two uniformly magnetized spheres oriented so that their magnetic moments are parallel to the axis passing through the centers of the spheres. We demonstrate that, contrary to what is often claimed in the literature, the magnetic interaction between such spheres is not equivalent to the interaction between two point magnetic dipoles placed in the centers of the spheres. The nonzero levitation force acting on a uniformly magnetized sphere or a point magnetic dipole above a superconducting sphere in the ideal Meissner state is a clear manifestation of the non-equivalence.