Discovery
There are many accounts of the first discovery of magnets. One of the most common is about an old Cretan shepherd, Magnes. Magnes was herding his sheep in northern Greece about 2000 BC. As he was walking, the nails in his shoes and the metal tip of his walking cane stuck to the rock he was crossing. The rock contained loadstones, which contain magnetite, a naturally magnetic material. This rock gained the name after Magnes himself or the land he was on, Magnesia.
After this, magnetite was said to be a magical. A Geek elder, Pliny, mentioned a hill that was made of stone that attracted metal in his writings around 50 AD and how it contained magical powers. After this, citizens believed that the hill had powers to heal the sick, scare away evil spirits and attract and sink iron boats. Ships that disappeared at sea were said to be attracted to islands made entirely of magnetite because of the ships iron nails.
The Chinese also became aware of the effects of magnetite. They noticed that not only does magnetite attract iron, but it also points in a north-south direction when cut into slivers. Magnetite earned a new name lodestone, meaning “leading stone.” The Chinese developed a primitive compass floating a piece of lodestone on the surface of water.
Early Scientific Advancement
In 1269, Peter Peregrinus was the first to write scientific reports about magnetite, separating it from the superstitious beliefs from before. William Gilbert began to do experiments and research in the 1600's and found that the Earth is made out of magnetic material and that magnets can be made by striking iron.Hans Christian Oersted discovered that there is a relationship between electricity and magnetism in 1820. A magnetic compass needle will move when placed close to a wire carrying an electric current because a magnetic field is produced around any moving particle.
James Clerk Maxwell further studied the relationship between magnets and electricity developing simple equations that are used today. He developed this in 1862, years before the discovery of the electron that has so much to do with the relationship.
