Magnet Facts

In 1963, at the University of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy, Salvatore Bellini was observing bog sediments under his microscope. As opposed to the normal movement, Bellini noticed a group of bacteria orienting themselves in a unique direction. Upon further study, he realized that these peculiar microorganisms were moving in the direction of the North Pole. He dubbed them "magnetosensitive bacteria.” Continue reading →

In general, it can be said that videos on the Internet have a certain “magnetic” quality to them, whether you’re watching them to learn new things, to check out the latest Beyoncé music video, or even just to procrastinate. But, they can become even more mesmerizing with the presence of actual magnets.   We’ve rounded up 4 of the most mesmerizing magnet videos we could find online...and one bonus one that is only technically on topic, but that you’ll enjoy all the same. Check them out: Continue reading →

Many of us are aware that plasma is one of the fundamental states of matter. What is not always apparent to us earthlings is that plasma is invisible to the naked eye in certain areas of the universe. But with the help of a tool called MIMI (Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument) NASA can view an entirely new world of material. Continue reading →

At the heart of the Milky Way galaxy lies Sagittarius A-star (Sgr A*), a supermassive black hole about 25,000 light-years from Earth. It was recently discovered that this colossal celestial object possesses a magnetic field. But while Earth has a magnetic force field to shield against cosmic debris and radiation, Sgr A*’s magnetic field acts more like an engine capable of sending jets of intense radiation across the galaxy. Continue reading →

We’ve all been there -- you just finished shopping, you’re tired from a long day, and then the annoying alarm goes off just as you try to leave the store. But have you ever wondered how it works? Continue reading →

While most rare earth magnets are made from the rock hard materials we’re familiar with, not all appear in that classic solid form. Ferrofluid is a stable colloidal suspension of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. So, simply, it is a liquid that contains tiny magnetic particles. It’s magnetic properties comes from the magnetized iron oxide it contains. These particles are known as nanoparticles because of their small size -- the particles are actually so small that they never fully settle to the bottom of their container! Continue reading →

If you’ve ever been alone in an old house or graveyard at night, it might seem like every little sound is amplified and menacing. The hair on the back of your neck stands up and you feel like someone is watching you. Even if though you don’t believe in ghosts, in certain spooky situations it’s not difficult to imagine a ghostly apparition coming to get you. So, what’s causing your normally rational brain to conjure ghosts and make you feel paranoid? It might be that a nearby electromagnetic field is bringing back the dead. Continue reading →

You may remember wormholes as a phenomenon of science fiction capable of transporting objects over great distances due to a wrinkle in space and time from references in pop culture such as Star Trek or Interstellar. But wormholes are much more than works of science fiction as was recently demonstrated by scientists in the physics department at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona who were able to generate a magnetic wormhole in their lab. Continue reading →

Can you imagine if the Earth were orbiting two stars instead of just the Sun? Our solar system would then become a binary solar system and, if science fiction books and movies are to be believed, the weather would be pretty hot. You may remember how a dusty, desert planet called Tatooine from the Star Wars movies orbited two stars. Continue reading →

In the future, not only could you be zooming around on a hoverboard, but your house may also float and your robot assistant at work could levitate to avoid obstacles and maintain a sterile space. This may seem too far-fetched to be happening anytime soon, but a company called Arx Pax is working to change that with magnetic field architecture (MFA). Continue reading →