Abstract
More than 2000 years ago mariners were using pieces of a naturally magnetic ore as lodestones (leading stones) for direction finding. These stones were mined in a part of ancient Greece called Magnesia, and so they came to be known as magnets. When a lodestone was suspended so that it was horizontal and free to move, it always rested with one end pointing north. The first steel magnets were made more than 500 years ago and used as compass needles in place of lodestones.
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© 1991 Robert Barrass
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Barrass, R. (1991). Magnetism and electricity. In: Mastering Science. Macmillan Master Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11075-9_27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11075-9_27
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-49985-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-11075-9
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