Magnetism has been around for billions of years. Yet, there are still numerous things we haven’t discovered about it. Each year, we discover a little more though. And this year, scientists have found out some interesting aspects of this force of nature. Below we have highlighted 3 magnetic discoveries from 2014.
Animal Magnetism
Many animals have a natural connection to Earth’s magnetic field. We’ve know this for years, but the number of animals and uses is expanding as researchers conduct more studies into this phenomenon. In 2014, we learned that
some shark species are repelled by magnetic fields━a fact that could be used in creating eco-friendly shark beach barriers. We also discovered that
Antarctic seals use magnetism to aid in hunting and
dogs align with magnetic field lines to do their ‘business’.
Magnetic Storage
Electricity and magnetism are highly intertwined with one another. In fact, many electronic devices and other technology, like motors and computers, rely on both to function. In computers, semiconductors process electrical information while magnetic materials in the hard drive are used for data storage. A
team of researchers may have created a new material that combine both of those properties into one.
Moon and Magnetic Fields
Four billion years ago,
the moon may have had a magnetic field stronger than Earth’s according to research released this year. During the Apollo missions, rocks collected from the moon suggested that the moon may have had a magnetic field. After further research and scans of the rocks, scientists found no evidence of the rocks coming from cosmic impacts like asteroids. With that knowledge, it is believed that the moon once had a molten core like Earth’s and generated a magnetic field. Now, however, the moon has no global magnetic field and scientists still aren't sure what happened to it.
Our knowledge of magnetism is growing each year, however, there are still countless things that we do not know about this magnetic force. These are just a few magnetic highlights from the past year. Can you think of any other notable magnetic findings?
