  Dynamics of neutral atoms in nonuniform magnetic fields, typical of
quadrupole magnetic traps, is considered by applying an accurate method for
solving nonlinear systems of differential equations. This method is more
general than the adiabatic approximation and, thus, permits to check the limits
of the latter and also to analyze nonadiabatic regimes of motion. An unusual
nonadiabatic regime is found when atoms are confined from one side of the
z-axis but are not confined from another side. The lifetime of atoms in a trap
in this semi-confining regime can be sufficiently long for accomplishing
experiments with a cloud of such atoms. At low temperature, the cloud is
ellipsoidal being stretched in the axial direction and moving along the z-axis.
The possibility of employing the semi-confining regime for studying the
relative motion of one component through another, in a binary mixture of gases
is discussed.
