Applicability of nonresonant artificial diamagnetics

Artificial diamagnetics are prominent for achieving extraordinarily strong diamagnetism in a wide frequency range. However, as far as the magnetic fields outside the artificial medium are concerned, bulk conductors show a very similar pattern. The question arises whether the complicated internal structure of artificial diamagnetics can, to this end, be replaced by a simpler object. We show that for an electrically small body, internal structuring is likely to make the effective diamagnetic response weaker than that of a simple conducting object.