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Magnetism constitutes one of the initial natural forces that humans ever found, however, it was only recently that the complete potential of magnetism has been understood and worked upon. Many gadgets and technologies have magnetism principles behind them, so much so that our world appears to be incomplete without them. For {instance|example], if you go for an ipod repair or an iphone repair then very certainly it is electromagnetism that moves these gadgets. Have a view at some of the interesting facts and accounts on magnetism that have been gathered through history.

You may be wondering how magnets were actually found. Myth has it that a shepherd named Magnes who used to exist some 4,000 years before got his shoes attached to a rock that comprised of nails that got pulled to a rock named magnetite. Without much knowledge of the subject at that period, it was believed that the rock had magical powers.

Archimedes, a researcher of ancient Greece, is believed to have attracted the nails out of rivals ships using a magnet which ended in the sinking of all the foes ships. It was Archimedes who understood the importance of magnetism. Besides, magnets have been employed throughout history for navigation purposes by sailors. They found that a fragment of magnet suspended by a thread will every time point in the North-South orientation. This is what resulted in the invention of compasses. This is why magnetite was called the leading stone as it helped in direction.

At times, you will find that magnets are made of steel or iron. Whereas, powerful magnets can be manufactured by alloys of metals such as iron, nickel, copper, cobalt, and so on. In earlier times, hammering alongwith heating a fragment of steel or iron in the north-south orientation was used as a way to magnetize them. With this technique, the molecules have aligned themselves in the north-south orientation. Magnets are not only stones seen on our planet, but all of earth itself acts as a magnet. Earth is a magnet that even comprises of the North and South Pole. When you keep a non-magnetic material in a North to South orientation, it results in magnetizing it. This happens due to the availability of a magnetic field surrounding the earth and the molecules obtain sufficient time to get aligned in the North-South orientation.

The question is; what causes the earth to turn into a magnet? It is believed that this magnetic force of the earth comes from a liquid in the core of the earth that makes the earth to turn in to a gigantic electromagnet. It’s basically the stream of liquid metal that produces electrical flow, and a magnetic field is generated as a result of this flow of charge. Yet, the confusing part is explaining the source of the magnetic field that initiated it all originally. There is a theory that the powerful magnetic field from the sun was the cause to initiate the process when earth was formed. However, we can’t declare this for sure. Whatever means it started, it is truly a wonder of nature.