July 2nd, 2008

A History of Magnets And Their Many Uses

With their many uses, magnets are truly one of the wonders of our world.  Learn about the history of magnets and the various ways magnetic technology affects our everyday lives.

Magnets have been in use for thousands of years.  The first known reference to magnetism dates back to the 4th century B.C.E. from a Chinese literary work called “Book of the Devil Valley Master.”  In this book, it was written that “lodestone attracts iron to it.”  Lodestone is a type of magnetite metal with a special crystalline structure that can naturally create a magnetic field, thereby attracting and magnetizing iron.  By the 12th century A.D., Chinese sailors were using lodestone rocks as compasses for sea navigation.

This is a preview of A History of Magnets And Their Many Uses. Read the full post (636 words, 1 image, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)

Share This

Filed under: Science | No Comments »

Close
E-mail It