Manipulating beams of paramagnetic atoms and molecules using inhomogeneous magnetic fields

[Display omitted] •Manipulation of atomic and molecular beams using magnetic fields.•Calculation of the Zeeman shifts of paramagnetic atoms and molecules.•Applications of controlled supersonic beams in spectroscopy and reaction dynamics. We review methods to manipulate the motion of pulsed supersonic atomic and molecular beams using time-independent and -dependent inhomogeneous magnetic fields. In addition, we discuss current and possible future applications and research directions.