The Brillouin and Langevin functions are a pair of special functions that appear when studying idealized paramagnetic materials in statistical mechanics. French physicists Paul Langevin and Léon Brillouin contributed to the microscopic understanding of the magnetic properties of materials, which is why these functions are named after them. Thus, the Brillouin function is used to describe the dependence of the magnetic field on the total angular momentum J of the material.

Stephen Rickaby, Laboratory Manager for Trescal UK, presented a poster at the 2023 International Metrology Congress (CIM) on the Brillouin function and its utility in quantum mechanics.

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