The Great Magnet, the Earth

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Author:

David P. Stern

Subject:

Science and Technology

Institution Name:

Stargazers

Collection:

Stargazers

Grade Level:

Secondary

Abstract:

This site provides a non-mathematical introduction to the magnetism of the Earth, the Sun, the planets and their environments, following a historical thread. In 1600, four hundred years ago William Gilbert, later physician to Queen Elizabeth I of England, published his great study of magnetism, "De Magnete"--"On the Magnet". It gave the first rational explanation to the mysterious ability of the compass needle to point north-south: the Earth itself was magnetic. "De Magnete" opened the era of modern physics and astronomy and started a century marked by the great achievements of Galileo, Kepler, Newton and others. This web site tells the story of Gilbert and his book--with glimpses of London in 1600, and with studies of magnetism before Gilbert. It then recounts the later history of the Earth's magnetism, including the remarkable discoveries of Halley, Coulomb, Oersted, Ampere and Gauss; the unexpected connection between sunspot activity and the Earth's magnetism; the deep-seated "'dynamo" believed to be responsible for the field; the strange reversals of the Earth's magnetic polarity; the role of magnetism in discovering the "drift" of continents; the extension of magnetism to space around Earth, even to other planets.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English, French, German, Spanish

Material Type:

Lecture Notes, Readings

Media Format:

Graphics/Photos, Text/HTML

Conditions of Use:

Custom Permissions
Feel free to copy this material onto your school computers and distribute it by disk to students and to other teachers, non-commercially. The only restriction is on the list of solutions to the problems, meant for teachers alone.