Who first discovered/pointed out Earth's magnetic field?

[Forensicmad]

Does anyone know?

I know that sailors used to use compasses to navigate but does anyone know who actually identified the field surrounding Earth? The person who found out what caused the compasses to actually work in the way they do?

 

Thanks in advance

[Klaynos]

http://www.bookrags.com/sciences/sciencehistory/earths-magnetic-field-wsd.html looks like it might be worth a read for you...

[Forensicmad]

Thank you very much Klaynos.

Its exactly what I need

[Klaynos]

Google is an amazing tool

 

But np

[Forensicmad]

*I googled it but all i could find was stuff about the largest one ever found because of 2 neutron stars, or how people were making huge ones. I guess i will just have to look harder.

Thanks anyway

[Rocket Man]

the magnetic feild of the earth was used for navigation before anyone ever thought of the concept of magnetics. they found minerals rich in magnetite, hung them from strings and got their bearings off that. this was done with the thinking of a flat earth, the rock simply stayed at the same angle relative to the ground.

no one could have thought of a magnetoshpere untill they thought of a round earth.

you could try googling "history, magnetic, navigation"

[frostbite]

hey... i have a question regarding on earth's magnetic sphere. its been quite bugging me ever since i got it in my physics exam. physicists say that the actual north of the earth is actually the south and that the south is actually the north. i don't quite understand it. i'm sorry for the abrupt question. i'll try to get the given question (from my physics teacher) and i'll try to post it next time. i hope i kinda gave you some idea.

[Klaynos]

well magnets alway form pairs in the form

 

N--SN--S

 

When you join them together so obosites attract

you get a north magnet and float it in water the North is attracted to the norht pole of the earth, therefore it must be a south end of the magnet (the earth)

[chitrangda]

when u hold a magnet freely it points to wards the north.this is because earths south is what we call as north and north is what we call as south.

we know that opp poles attract and alike poles reppel each other.hence south of the earth attracts the north pole of the magnet and vise versa

[KaiduOrkhon]

James Van Allen - discovered the inner - magnetic field -belt in the late '50's.

Early satellites proved the outer belt. There is controversy as to when and by whom the outer belt was discovered - via Russian satellite, or American.