How does a magnetic compass work? Well, it’s all down to basic physics and human ingenuity. The key component of a standard baseplate compass is its magnetized needle, which is allowed to spin freely ...

The Sun’s magnetic field is invisible to our eyes, but it quietly shapes everything from the shimmering auroras over the poles to the reliability of GPS on a jet’s navigation screen. When that ...

Libor Šmejkal has a fondness for the artwork of M. C. Escher, whose work was often inspired by mathematics. One of Šmejkal’s favourite pieces is Horseman, a striking picture that features an elaborate ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Amid the roilings of the Milky Way, immense pockets of gas coalesce into clouds where stars are born. In this process, there is a hidden ...

"As the magma cooled to form what is today the world's solid outer crust, magnetism was locked into minerals containing iron, such as magnetite." When you purchase through links on our site, we may ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The sun likes to remind us that Earth is merely one part of a ...

Susan Clark is helping to unravel the mysterious workings of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, a critical missing piece of the galactic puzzle. Amid the roilings of the Milky Way, immense pockets of gas ...

Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is one of the modes of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). As the name implies, it is used to map magnetic characteristics. MFM investigates the local magnetic fields at ...

In 1848, when Louis Pasteur was a young chemist still years away from discovering how to sterilize milk, he discovered something peculiar about crystals that accidentally formed when an industrial ...

Magnets are pretty common here on Earth, and magnetism in general is a constant thanks to the geomagnetic field. On the moon, however, things are different. The moon does not have a magnetic field, ...