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SCIPAD - BIG IDEAS - BOOK 2
CIRCUITS AND MAGNETS
Magnetism
William Gilbert (1544 - 1603) was an English scientist and
physician who is credited by many as the “father of electricity
and magnetism”. He was born in Colchester, England and
initially studied medicine. He started work as a doctor in
London in 1569.
During Gilbert’s lifetime, Britain was a major seafaring nation.
However, travel by sea was hazardous - getting lost at sea
was common and often fatal.
Two substances found naturally in the earth, amber and
lodestone, had been known for about 2 000 years to have
properties of attraction. Lodestone would attract objects
made of iron but, more importantly, if suspended by a thread,
they would always point in the same direction. William
Gilbert worked with many people from ship’s captains and
navigators, to compass makers, and performed many
experiments using a round magnetic lodestone and a
freely-moving needle. Gilbert conducted experiments for
about 17 years to clarify his understanding of the compass
and the phenomenon of magnetism. Shortly before his death he published a
book called De Magnete. To prove his theory, he built a globe of lodestone and
showed that it had the same magnetic field pattern as the Earth.
By publishing De Magnete Gilbert shattered many popular scientific theories and became the
first person to fully explain the workings of a magnetic compass. Lodestone had been used for
navigation for a long time, but the understanding of the Earth’s magnetic field and the use of a
compass was Gilbert’s great contribution to science and to travelling safely.
1. What were the two major hazards associated with sea travel during Gilbert’s lifetime?
2. What were the two substances that naturally showed properties of attraction?
(a)
(b)
3. How long had people known about the properties of lodestone?
4. What happens to lodestone if it is suspended by a thread?
5. Who did Gilbert work with in order to clarify his ideas about magnetism?
6. How long did Gilbert conduct experiments for in order to develop his theory?
7. What was the name of the book Gilbert published, and what year did he publish it?
8. State three modern methods by which scientists could tell others about their research.
(a)
(b)
(c)
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