Who made the first magnet?

4.8/5 rating (5 votes)

magnetic_field_300x209No one. The first magnets were chunks of the mineral magnetite or Fe3O4.

Lodestones, which were used to make the first compasses, were made of magnetite.

The Greeks get the credit for naming magnets. There are a couple attractive stories about the Greek discovery of magnets. One says that a shepherd by the name of Magnes got the nail of his sandals and the metal tip of his staff stuck in the ground when pasturing his flock over a field of magnetite. Another story says the name comes from a Greek province in Turkey called Magnesia. Magnetite was mined in Magnesia as early as 800 BC.

Share

This Q&A by Hillori Mitchell

A few years ago Hillori was sharing some fun bits of science trivia with friends when one of them told her, "You're just too smart!"  A couple weeks later Just2Smart.com was born.

Comments (0)

Leave a comment

Please login to leave a comment. Optional login below.

Tell us!

Have a question idea?

Like/dislike the new design?

See something that needs
to be fixed?

Let us know!