Lodestone

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Magnetite lodestone in the Hall of Gems of the Smithsonian

Lodestone or loadstone refers to naturally occurring pieces of intensely magnetic magnetite that were used for magnetizing compasses.

Iron, steel and ordinary magnetite are attracted to a magnetic field, including the Earth's magnetic field. Only magnetite with a particular crystalline structure, lodestone, has the coercivity to act as a permanent magnet and attract and magnetize iron. The naturally occurring specimens are magnetized by the strong fields surrounding lightning bolts. The name "magnet" comes from lodestones found in Magnesia, a portion of ancient Thessaly, Greece.1

In China, the earliest literary reference to magnetism lies in a 4th century BCE book called Book of the Devil Valley Master (鬼谷子): "The lodestone makes iron come or it attracts it."2 The earliest mention of the attraction of a needle appears in a work composed between 20 and 100 CE (Louen-heng): "A lodestone attracts a needle."2 By the 12th century the Chinese were known to use the lodestone compass for navigation. Also, Vikings used lodestone for navigation.citation needed

References

  1. ^ Paul Hewitt, "Conceptual Physics". 10th ed. (2006), p.458
  2. ^ a b Li Shu-hua, “Origine de la Boussole 11. Aimant et Boussole,” Isis, Vol. 45, No. 2. (Jul., 1954), p.175

External links

Look up Lodestone in
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Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 28 November 2008, at 19:29.

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