Magnetism

  • The properties of Magnetic attraction between metals was observed by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, but it was not understood.

History

  • The first record of magnetism is from Ancient Greece. A mythical Greek shepherd called Magnes was tending his sheep in Magnesia. He noticed the nails of his shoe and the metal tip on his crook were stuck to the rock below his feet. The rock became known as Magnetite.
  • Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) wrote about a hill that attracted metal but thought that its power was due to magic.
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