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Chapter 14: Magnetic Fields and Electromagnetism - Lesson 1: Magnetism

Introduction

  1. Introduction
  2. Magnetic Poles
  3. Magnetic Fields
  4. Connections Between Magnets and Charges
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You have no doubt played with magnets. But you are not the first. People from Ancient Egypt observed magnetic properties in a rock called loadstone (or magnetite) as much as 2600 years ago. A clever emperor from China used magnets to ensure he always faced south, which was considered the most favorable direction for an emperor to sit while governing.

Many more discoveries about magnetism and electromagnetism over the past 200 years have revolutionized our lives. The fact that you are viewing this page on a device powered by electricity from a wall outlet is just one of many discoveries we'll explore in this chapter and the chapter on electromagnetic induction. You'll soon appreciate even more how magnetism impacts you every day.

Our goal in this lesson is to first uncover what makes something a magnet. We'll then explore the concept of magnetic fields and see how magnetism is remarkably similar to--and yet different from--electric charges.
 


Figure 1 Borrowed from Wikimedia Commons (From Magnetite) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magnetite-47535.jpg under license Creative Commons

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