According to a recent report from the Los Angeles Chronicle, engineers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory are preparing to launch a new generation of high-field magnets that have the potential to significantly reduce a lab's operating costs and open up an entire new experimental industry for physics research. The biggest success so far in the effort is the collaborative project with SuperPower Inc. to produce a superconducting magnet that requires little to no electricity. The magnet has recently broken two world records for the strength of magnetic fields.

"We are now confident that this conductor technology can be used to construct an all-superconducting magnet with fields in excess of 30 tesla," said David Larbalestier, chief materials scientist at the magnet lab. "This is a huge gain over niobium-based superconducting magnets that are only operational to 23.5 tesla." Niobium is the material used to build most superconducting magnets.

Drew W. Hazelton, principal engineer for HTS applications at SuperPower said, "These new world record achievements are an important indicator of the value provided by SuperPower´s superior performance wire in the area of high field magnetics. We can expect important new developments in magnetics research in the future."

Since the project began over two years ago, it has progressed in leaps and bounds. In the future, it looks to continue its research into the science of magnetics that can potentially change the way we look at physics.

 

 

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is an experimental procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain in the hope of improving chronic depression symptoms. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is one of the newer types of brain stimulation methods designed to treat depression when standard treatment hasn't worked.

There are different ways to perform transcranial magnetic stimulation. But in general, a large electromagnetic coil is placed against your scalp near your forehead. The electromagnet creates painless electric currents that stimulate nerve cells in the region of your brain involved in mood regulation and depression.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to a recent release from NASA, a team of University of Alberta researchers has discovered a new way to track and predict space storms before they impact Earth's atmosphere.

The team's study reveals that magnetic blast waves can be used to pinpoint and predict the location where space storms dissipate their massive amounts of energy. These storms can dump the equivalent of 50 gigawatts of power, or the output of 10 of the world's largest power stations, into Earth's atmosphere.

To track these storms, the team uses ground-based observatories spread across northern Canada and the five satellites of the THEMIS space mission to detect magnetic disturbances as storms crash into the atmosphere. Using a technique the researchers call "space seismology," they look for the eye of the storm hundreds of thousands of miles above Earth. To find the strongest point in the storm, the team uses magnetic sensors at various points both on the ground and in space to learn more about space storms and how they interact with Earth's magnetic field.

To read more about this discovery and what it could mean for the future of tracking space storms, read the press release here.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 
According to UPI.com, scientists may be coming closer to producing environmentally friendly, magnetic refrigerators. Imperial College London researchers say magnetic refrigeration technology could provide a "green" alternative to traditional gas-compression refrigerators, requiring up to 30 percent less energy without the use of ozone-depleting chemicals or producing greenhouse gases.

"This is an exciting discovery because it means we may one day be able to tailor-make a material from the 'bottom up' … so it ticks all the boxes required to run a magnetic fridge," said Professor Lesley Cohen, one of the researchers. "This is vitally important because finding a low-energy alternative to the fridges in our homes and work places is crucial for cutting our carbon emissions and tackling climate change."

A magnetic refrigeration system works by applying a magnetic field to a magnetic material, causing it to heat. That heat is removed from the system by water, cooling the material back to its original temperature. When the magnetic field is removed the material cools even further, and it is that cooling property that researchers hope to harness for a wide variety of applications.

The research, led by James Moore, is reported in journal Advanced Materials. Readers should keep their eyes out for future developments of this unique and ground-breaking technology.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Butler Hospital in Providence, RI is looking to boost its fundraising efforts in order to back a new brain study initiative that could help those suffering from mental illness. The hospital, which is a national leader in mental health treatments, is looking to begin more extensive research in many areas of mental health treatment, including depression, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other memory disorders using vagus nerve stimulation.

Just recently, the hospital made its excellence in mental health research clear by introducing a new treatment that could revolutionize the way patients with depression are treated. This ground breaking approach is called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. It uses an electronic device that beams magnetic pulses through the skull to trigger small electrical changes. This is just a small fraction of what Butler is capable of. With added funds and the support of the community, Butler may be able to introduce revolutionary treatments that could change the way we look at medicine.

“It will enable us to recruit first rank researchers or to support young researchers who will grow someday into developing new treatments and new understanding of how the brain actually works,“ said Pat Recupero, President of Butler Hospital, in an interview with local media channels.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stop and think about this for a minute - The oceans magnetic fields not only exist but can be seen. Wow - take a moment to learn more about magnetic fields and the world you live in and on. 

Captured from space: weak magnetic fields generated by the motion of the oceans (Pic: Science)

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

History of Magnetism and Electricity

600 BC - Lodestone

The magnetic properties of natural ferric ferrite (Fe₃O₄) stones (lodestones) were described by Greek philosophers.

600 BC - Electric Charge

Amber is a yellowish, translucent mineral. As early as 600 BC the Greek philosopher, Aristophanes was aware of its peculiar property: when rubbed with a piece of fur, amber develops the ability to attract small pieces of material such as feathers. For centuries this strange, inexplicable property was thought to be unique to amber. This strange effect remained a mystery for over 2000 years, until, around AD 1600, Dr William Gilbert investigated the reactions of amber and magnets and first recorded the word 'Electric' in a report on the theory of magnetism.

Later in, in 1895, H.A. Lorentz developed the Electron Theory. We now know that there are three ways to generate electricity: Static, Electrochemical and Electromagnetic Induction.

1175 - First Reference to a Compass

Alexander Neckem an English monk of St. Albans describes the workings of a compass.

1269 - First Detailed Description of a Compass

Petrus Peregrinus de Marincourt, a French Crusader, describes a floating compass and a compass with a pivot point.

1600 - Static Electricity (De Magnete)

 In the 16th century, William Gilbert(1544-1603), the Court Physician to Queen Elizabeth I, proved that many other substances are electric (from the Greek word for amber, elektron) and that they have two electrical effects. When rubbed with fur, amber acquires resinous electricity; glass, however, when rubbed with silk, acquires vitreous electricity. Electricity repels the same kind and attracts the opposite kind of electricity. Scientists thought that the friction actually created the electricity (their word for charge). They did not realize that an equal amount of opposite electricity remained on the fur or silk. Dr. William Gilbert, realized that a force was created, when a piece of amber (resin) was rubbed with wool and attracted light objects. In describing this property today, we say that the amber is "electrified" or possesses and "electric charge". These terms are derived from the Greek word "electron" meaning amber and from this, the term "electricity" was developed. It was not until the end of the 19th century that this "something" was found to consist of negative electricity, known today as electrons.

Gilbert also studied magnetism and in 1600 wrote "De magnete" which gave the first rational explanation to the mysterious ability of the compass needle to point north-south: the Earth itself was magnetic. "De Magnete" opened the era of modern physics and astronomy and started a century marked by the great achievements of Galileo, Kepler, Newton and others.

Gilbert recorded three ways to magnetize a steel needle: by touch with a loadstone; by cold drawing in a North-South direction; and by exposure for a long time to the Earth's magnetic field while in a North-South orientation.

1660 - Static Electricity Generator

Otto von Guericke invents a crude machine for producing static electricity.

1729 - Conductors and Nonconductors

Stephen Gray describes that power possessed by one electrified body could be passed to another by connecting them.

1734 - Electrical Attraction and Repulsion

Charles Francois de Cisternay Du Fay first to recognize two kinds of electricity.

1730 - Compound Magnet

Servigton Savery produces the first compound magnet by binding together a number of artificial magnets with a common pole piece at each end.

1740 - First Commercial Magnet

Gowen Knight produces the first artificial magnets for sale to scientific investigators and terrestrial navigators.

1745 - Electric Force, Capacitor

Leyden Jar is one of the earliest and simplest forms of electric capacitor, invented independently about 1745 by the Dutch physicist Pieter van Musschenbroek of the University of Leyden and Ewald Georg von Kleist of Pomerania. The original Leyden jar was a stoppered glass jar containing water, with a wire or nail extending through the stopper into the water. The jar was charged by holding it in one hand and bringing the exposed end of the wire into contact with an electrical device. If contact was broken between the wire and the source of electricity, and the wire was touched with the other hand, a discharge took place that was experienced as a violent shock.

If a charge Q is placed on the metal plates, the voltage rises to amount V. The measure of a capacitor's ability to store charge is the capacitance C, where C = Q/V.  Charge flows from a capacitor just as it flows from a battery, but with one significant difference. When the charge leaves a capacitor's plates, no more can be obtained without recharging. This happens because the electrical force is conservative. The energy released cannot exceed the energy stored. The ability to do work is called electric potential.

A type of conservation of energy is also associated with emf. The electrical energy obtainable from a battery is limited by the energy stored in chemical molecular bonds. Both emf and electric potential are measured in volts, and, unfortunately, the terms voltage, potential, and emf are used rather loosely. For example, the term battery potential is often used instead of emf.

1747 - Vitreous Electricity, Conservation of Charge

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) was an American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat, scientist, and inventor.

After Gilbert's discovery that a force of electric charge is created by friction of different materials, Benjamin Franklin in 1747, improved on this by announcing that this electric charge exists of two types of electric forces, an attractive force and a repulsive force. (William Watson (1715-87) in England independently reached the same conclusion.) To identify these two forces, he gave the names, positive and negative charges and to symbolize them, he used the + and - signs the + being for positive and the - for negative. Benjamin Franklin realized that all materials possess a single kind of electrical "fluid" that can penetrate matter freely but that can be neither created nor destroyed. The action of rubbing merely transfers the fluid from one body to another, electrifying both. Franklin and Watson originated the principle of conservation of charge: the total quantity of electricity in an insulated system is constant. Franklin defined the fluid, which corresponded to vitreous electricity, as positive and the lack of fluid as negative. Therefore, according to Franklin, the direction of flow was from positive to negative--the opposite of what is now known to be true. A subsequent two-fluid theory was developed, according to which samples of the same type attract, whereas those of opposite types repel.

Franklin was acquainted with the Leyden jar (a glass jar coated inside and outside with tinfoil), how it could store a charge and how it caused a shock when it was discharged. Franklin wondered whether lightning and thunder were also a result of electrical discharges. During a thunderstorm in 1752, Franklin flew a kite that had a metal tip. At the end of the wet, conducting hemp line on which the kite flew he attached a metal key, to which he tied a nonconducting silk string that he held in his hand. The experiment was extremely hazardous, but the results were unmistakable: when he held his knuckles near the key, he could draw sparks from it. The next two who tried this extremely dangerous experiment were killed.

1750 - First Book on Magnet Manufacture

John Mitchell publishes the first book on making steel magnets.

1757 - Power, Steam Engine

James Watt(1736-1819) conducted no electrical experiments. He was an instrument maker by trade and set up a repair shop in Glasgow in 1757. Watt measured the rate of work exerted by a horse drawing rubbish up an old mine shaft and found it amounted to about 22,000 ft-lbs per minute. He added a margin of 50% arriving at 33,000 ft-lbs is equal to one horse-power.

 James Watt, also invented the steam condensing engine. His improvements to steam engines were patented over a period of 15 years, starting in 1769 and his name was given to the electric unit of power, the Watt. When Edison's generator was coupled with Watt's steam engine, large scale electricity generation became a practical proposition.

1767 - Electrical Force

It was known as early as 1600 that the attractive or repulsive force diminishes as the charges are separated. This relationship was first placed on a numerically accurate, or quantitative, foundation by Joseph Priestley, a friend of Benjamin Franklin. In 1767, Priestley indirectly deduced that when the distance between two small, charged bodies is increased by some factor, the forces between the bodies is reduced by the square of the factor. For example, if the distance between charges is tripled, the force decreases to one-ninth its former value.  Although rigorous, Priestley's proof was so simple that he did not strongly advocate it. The matter was not considered settled until 18 years later, when John Robinson of Scotland made more direct measurements of the electrical force involved.

1780 - Electric Current

 Because of an accident the 18th-century Italian scientist Luigi Galvani started a chain of events that culminated in the development of the concept of voltage and the invention of the battery. In 1780 one of Galvani's assistants noticed that a dissected frog leg twitched when he touched its nerve with a scalpel. Another assistant thought that he had seen a spark from a nearby charged electric generator at the same time. Galvani reasoned that the electricity was the cause of the muscle contractions. He mistakenly thought, however, that the effect was due to the transfer of a special fluid, or "animal electricity," rather than to conventional electricity.

Experiments such as this, in which the legs of a frog or bird were stimulated by contact with different types of metals, led Luigi Galvani in 1791 to propose his theory that animal tissues generate electricity.  In experimenting with what he called atmospheric electricity, Galvani found that a frog muscle would twitch when hung by a brass hook on an iron lattice.

1792 - Electrochemistry, Voltaic Cell

 By 1792 another Italian scientist, Alessandro Volta, disagreed: he realized that the main factors in Galvani's discovery were the two different metals - the steel knife and the tin plate - upon which the frog was lying. the different metals, separated by the moist tissue of the frog, were generating electricity. The frog's leg was simply a detector.

In 1800,Volta showed that when moisture comes between two different metals, electricity is created. This led him to invent the first electric battery, the voltaic pile, which he made from thin sheets of copper and zinc separated by moist pasteboard (felt soaked in brine).

In this way, a new kind of electricity was discovered, electricity that flowed steadily like a current of water instead of discharging itself in a single spark or shock. Volta showed that electricity could be made to travel from one place to another by wire, thereby making an important contribution to the science of electricity.

1820 - Electromagnetism, Current

In 1820, a physicist Hans Christian Oersted, learned that a current flowing through a wire would move a compass needle placed beside it. This showed that an electric current produced a magnetic field.

Andre Marie Ampere, a French mathematician who devoted himself to the study of electricity and magnetism, was the first to explain the electro-dynamic theory. He showed that two parallel wires, carrying current, attracted each other if the currents flowed in the same direction and opposed each other if the currents flowed in opposite directions. He formulated in mathematical terms, the laws that govern the interaction of currents with magnetic fields in a circuit and as a result of this the unit of electric current, the amp, was derived from his name. An electric charge in motion is called electric current. The strength of a current is the amount of charge passing a given point per second, or I = Q/t, where Q coulombs of charge passing in t seconds. The unit for measuring current is the ampere or amp, where 1 amp = 1 coulomb/sec. Because it is the source of magnetism as well, current is the link between electricity and magnetism.

1822 - Fourier Transforms

Baron Joseph Fourier (1768-1830) was a French mathematician. His method of analyzing waves, published in 1822, was a spinoff of his work on the flow of heat. It shows how any wave can be built up from simpler waves. This powerful branch of mathematics, Fourier Transforms has contributed to important modern developments like electronic speech recognition.

1826 - Resistance - Currents Causing Heat

 In 1826, the German Physicist Georg Simon Ohm, examined Volta's Principle of the electric battery and Ampere's relationship of currents in a circuit. He noted that when there was a current in a circuit, there was at times, heat, and the amount of heat was related to different metals. He discovered that there was a relationship between current and heat, there was some "resistance" to the flow of current, in the circuit. By discovering this, he found out that if the potential difference (volts), remained constant, the current was in proportion to the resistance. This unit of electrical resistance - the ohm - was named after him. He also formulated a law, showing the relationship between volts, amps and resistance and this law was called "Ohm's Law" also named after him. This law as we know it today, is the basis of electricity.

1830 - Inductance

In 1830, Joseph Henry (1797-1878), discovered that a change in magnetism can make currents flow, but he failed to publish this. In 1832 he described self-inductance - the basic property of inductor. In recognition of his work, inductance is measured in henries. The stage was then set for the encompassing electromagnetic theory of James Clerk Maxwell. The variation of actual currents is enormous. A modern electrometer can detect currents as low as 1/100,000,000,000,000,000 amp, which is a mere 63 electrons per second. The current in a nerve impulse is approximately 1/100,000 amp; a 100-watt light bulb carries 1 amp; a lightning bolt peaks at about 20,000 amps; and a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant can deliver 10,000,000 amps at 115 V.

1836 - Daniell Cell

In 1836, John Daniell (1790-1845) proposed an improved electric cell that supplied an even current during continuous operation. The Daniell cell gave new impetus to electric research and found many commercial applications. In 1837 Daniell was presented the highest award of the Royal Society, the Copley Medal, for the invention of the Daniell cell.

1837 - Telegraph, Electromagnet

After the electric battery and the electromagnet were discovered, Samuel Morse(1791-1872) introduced the electric telegraph. Coded messages were sent over wires, by means of electrical impulses (identified as dots and dashes) known as Morse code. This was really the beginning of commercially used electricity. The electric telegraph is known as the first practical use of electricity and the first system of electrical communication. It is interesting to note here, that the Post Office in Australia, played an important part at that time, in the organizing of the communication.

1840 - Mechanical Computer

Charles Babbage (1791-1871), a British mathematician, designed several machines to generate error-free tables for navigation. The mechanical devices would serve as models for the later electronic computers.

1850 - Thermoelectricity

Thomas Seebeck a German physicist was the discover of the "Seebeck effect". He twisted two wires made of different metals and heated a junction where the two wires met, producing a small current. The current is the result of a flow of heat from the hot to the cold junction. This is called thermoelectricity. Thermo is a Greek word meaning heat.

1854 - Boolean Algebra

George Boole was entirely self taught. He published a way of using symbols that perfectly expresses the rules of logic. Using this system, complicated rules can be written clearly and often simplified.

1855 - Electromagnetic Induction

Michael Faraday (1791-1867) an Englishman, made one of the most significant discoveries in the history of electricity: Electromagnetic induction. His pioneering work dealt with how electric currents work. Many inventions would come from his experiments, but they would come fifty to one hundred years later. Failures never discouraged Faraday. He would say; "the failures are just as important as the successes." He felt failures also teach. The farad, the unit of capacitance is named in the honor of Michael Faraday.

Faraday was greatly interested in the invention of the electromagnet, but his brilliant mind took earlier experiments still further. If electricity could produce magnetism, why couldn't magnetism produce electricity. In 1831, Faraday found the solution. Electricity could be produced through magnetism by motion. He discovered that when a magnet was moved inside a coil of copper wire, a tiny electric current flows through the wire. H.C. Oersted, in 1820, demonstrated that electric currents produce a magnetic field. Faraday noted this and in 1821, he experimented on the theory that, if electric currents in a wire can produce magnetic fields, then magnetic fields should produce electricity. By 1831, he was able to prove this and through his experiment, was able to explain, that these magnetic fields were lines of force. These lines of force would cause a current to flow in a coil of wire, when the coil is rotated between the poles of a magnet. This action then shows that the coils of wire being cut by lines of magnetic force, in some strange way, produces electricity. These experiments, convincingly demonstrated the discovery of electromagnetic induction in the production of electric current, by a change in magnetic intensity.

1860 - Arc Lights

As the practical use of electricity became evident and the electric telegraph was in operation, it was not long before scientists were looking towards making further use of this electricity. The next advance of great importance, was the introduction of the electric carbon arc light, which was exhibited in experimental form in 1808, by Sir Humphry Davey. He used a large battery to provide current for his demonstration, as these arc lights require a heavy current and no means of mechanically generating electricity had as yet been developed. The principle of these arc lights, is that when two carbon rods in a circuit are brought together, an arc is created. This arc, which gives off a brilliant incandescence, is maintained as long as the rods are just separated and keep mechanically fed this way, to maintain the arc. As the arc lights took a heavy current from these batteries, it was not until about 1860, that practical use was made of them. By this time adequate generating sources were developed and then they were only used mainly for street lighting and in picture theaters. Although arc lighting was still used until the early 1900's they were eventually superseded by the incandescent light, except that most picture theaters use them in their projectors even today.

1860 - DC Motor

The history of the electric motor begins with Hans Christian Oersted, who discovered in 1820, that electricity produced a magnetic field, as mentioned before. Faraday followed up this in 1821, by devising the principle of the electric motor of his own design. Some of those worth mentioning are Jacobi in 1834, Elias in 1842, Froment in 1844 and Pacinotti in 1860. Pacinotti used a ring wound armature which was used in 1860 and was an outstanding advance on any previous attempts. Most of these motors were in the experimental stage but it was not until 1871, that Zenobe Theophile Gramme introduced his motor, which was really a development of Pacinotti's machine. This motor was said to be the first electric motor of commercial significance. During this period the scientists concentrated on the "motor", but meanwhile, experiments with machines producing electricity dynamically were under way.

1866 - LeClanche Cell

Leclanche (1839-1882) is a French engineer who in about 1866 invented the battery that bears his name. In slightly modified form, the Leclanché battery, now called a dry cell, is produced in great quantities and is widely used in devices such as flashlights and portable radios. This cell consists of a zinc case filled with a moist paste containing ammonium sulfate. In the center of this electrolyte paste is a carbon rod coated with manganese dioxide, which is a strong oxidizing agent.

1871 - DC Generator

With the development of the carbon filament lamp by Edison in 1879, the DC generator then became one of the essential components of the constant-potential lighting systems. Previous to this only arc lights were used for street lighting. Then commercial lighting and residential lighting, as the inventors were aiming at, became practical and so the electric light and power industry was born. When H. C. Oersted in 1820, discovered that an electric current produces magnetic fields, the DC motor was developed. In 1831, Michael Faraday discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction. He found that moving a magnet through a coil of wire, caused an electric current to flow in the wire, thus the electric generator could now be developed. But it was not until 1871, when Gramme introduced his motor and generator, that the electric generator was used commercially. By 1872, Siemens and Halske of Berlin improved on Gramme's generator, by producing the drum armature. Other improvements were made, such as the slotted armature in 1880 but by 1882, Edison had completed the design of the system we still use to distribute electricity from power stations.

1876 - Telephone

Since the telegraph was invented by Samual Morse in 1837, great advances had been made in its utilization, but it continued as a telegraph system using Morse Code for its communication. Alexander Graham Bell in 1875, was interested in telegraphy and realized that in using Morse Code over telegraph wires there should be other ways to this form of communication using electricity. He was also interested in acoustic and sound and worked on the principle that if Morse Code created electrical impulses in an electrical circuit, some means of sound causing vibration in the air, could also create electrical impulses in a circuit. In an experiment he use a "diaphragm" associated with an electrical circuit and any sound reaching the diaphragm, would cause electrical impulses and these were carried on to the other end of the circuit. These then would cause vibrations to another diaphragm at this end and would be in relation to the first diaphragm, hence the sound was electrically transmitted from one end of the circuit to the other end. He continued working on these experiments and on March 7th, 1876 his telephone was officially patented and a successful demonstration was made at an Exhibition Hall in Philadelphia. Graham Bell was just in time to patent his telephone, as another inventor Elisha Gray, was experimenting also on a similar invention. Later, Edison improved on the diaphragm - then called transmitters - but Bell won the day, by being given the honor of inventing the "telephone".

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) born in Scotland, was raised in a family that was interested and involved in the science of sound. Bell's father and grandfather both taught speech to the deaf. A unit of sound level is called a bel in his honor. Sound levels are measured in tenths of a bel, or decibels. The abbreviation for decibel is dB.

1879 - DC Generation, Incandescent Light

Thomas Alva Edison, (1847-1931)was one of the most well known inventors of all time with 1093 patents. Self-educated, Edison was interested in chemistry and electronics. During the whole of his life, Edison received only three months of formal schooling, and was dismissed from school as being retarded, though in fact a childhood attack of scarlet fever had left him partially deaf.

Nearly 40 years went by before a really practical DC (Direct Current) generator was built by Thomas Edison. Edison's many inventions included the phonograph and an improved printing telegraph. In 1878 Joseph Swan, a British scientist, invented the incandescent filament lamp and within twelve months Edison made a similar discovery in America. Swan and Edison later set up a joint company to produce the first practical filament lamp. Prior to this, electric lighting had been my crude arc lamps.

Edison used his DC generator to provide electricity to light his laboratory and later to illuminate the first New York street to be lit by electric lamps, in September 1882. Edison's successes were not without controversy, however - although he was convinced of the merits of DC for generating electricity, other scientists in Europe and America recognised that DC brought major disadvantages.

1880 - Heaviside Layer

Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) The British mathematician realized that information travels along a cable as a wave in the space between the conductors, rather than through the conductors themselves. His concepts made it possible to design long-distance telephone cables. He also discoverd why radio waves bend around the Earth. This led to long-range radio reception.

1880 - Absolute Temperatures, Kirchoff's Laws, Coulomb's Laws, Magnetic Flux, Microphone

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) was best known in his invention of a new temperature scale based on the concept of an absolute zero of temperature at -273°C (-460°F). To the end of his life, Thomson maintained fierce opposition to the idea that energy emitted by radioactivity came from within the atom. One of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 19th century, Thomson died opposing one of the most vital innovations in the history of science.

The German physicist, Gustav Kirchoff (1824-1887) extended Ohm's Laws to deal with situations where more than one resistor was connected to more than one battery. His circuit laws state that all the current flowing into any point must also flow out of it, and that the total voltage driving current around any loop must equal the total of the voltages opposing it.

The French physicist Charles A. de Coulomb, whose name is used as the unit of electrical charge, later performed a series of experiments that added important details, as well as precision, to Priestley's proof. He also promoted the two-fluid theory of electrical charges, rejecting both the idea of the creation of electricity by friction and Franklin's single-fluid model. Today the electrostatic force law, also known as Coulomb's Law, is expressed as follows: if two small objects, a distance r apart, have charges p and q and are at rest, the magnitude of the force F on either is given by F = Kpq/rr, where K is a constant. According to the International System of Units, the force is measured in newtons (1 newton = 0.225 lb), the distance in meters, and the charges in coulombs. The constant K then becomes 8.988 billion. Charges of opposite sign attract, whereas those of the same sign repel. A coulomb C is a large amount of charge. To hold a positive coulomb (+ C) 1 meter away from a negative coulomb (- C) would require a force of 9 billion newtons (2 billion pounds). A typical charged cloud about to give rise to a lightning bolt has a charge of about 30 coulombs.

James Maxwell (1831-1879) a Scottish mathematician translated Faraday's theories into mathematical expressions. Maxwell was one of the finest mathematicians in history. A maxwell is the electromagnetic unit of magnetic flux, named in his honor. Today he is widely regarded as secondary only to Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein in the world of science.

David Hughes (1831-1900) was a professor of music and invented a successful telegraph. Back in London, experimenting with sound, he discovered an effective transducer, so sensitive that he though of it as a sound microscope, and called it a microphone.

1883 - The Alternating Current System

Nikola Tesla was born of Serbian parents July 10, 1856 and died a broke and lonely man in New York City January 7, 1943. He envisioned a world without poles and power lines. Referred to as the greatest inventive genius of all time. Tesla's system triumphed to make possible the first large-scale harnessing of Niagara Falls with the first hydroelectric plant in the United States in 1886. With the DC generator being in operation by 1882, it was not long before the first direct-current central power station built in the United States, in New York, was in operation in 1882. Around this period however, the scientists were still active, as they realised that with DC current, they could not transmit it over long distances. Nikola Tesla , was experimenting on generators and he discovered the rotating magnetic field in 1883, which is the principle of alternating current. This rotating magnetic field changes in opposite directions fifty time a second and is called 50 Hertz. The alternating current generator has a rotating magnetic field and is referred to as a A.C. current. The direction current generator generates current in the one direction hence DC current. He then developed plans for an induction motor, that would become his first step towards the successful utilization of alternating current.

George Westinghouse was awarded the contract to build the first generators at Niagara Falls. He used his money to buy up patents in the electric field. One of the inventions he bought was the transformer from William Stanley. Westinghouse invented the air brake system to stop trains, the first of more than one hundred patents he would receive in this area alone. He soon founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company in 1869.Westinghouse was a famous American inventor and industrialist who purchased and developed Nikola Tesla's patented motor for generating alternating current. The work of Westinghouse, Tesla and others gradually persuaded American society that the future lay with AC rather than DC (Adoption of AC generation enabled the transmission of large blocks of electrical, power using higher voltages via transformers, which would have been impossible otherwise). Today the unit of measurement for magnetic fields commemorates Tesla's name.

1885 - AC Generation

In 1885, George Westinghouse, head of the Westinghouse Electric Company, bought the patent rights to Tesla's polyphase system of alternating current. In America, in 1886 the first alternating current power station was placed in operation, but as no AC motor was available, the output of this station was limited to lighting. Although Telsa developed the polyphase AC induction motor in 1883, it was not put into operation until 1888 and from then on, this AC motor became the most commonly used motor for supplying large amounts of power.

Faraday's, discovery of electromagnetic induction, was used to create the transformer. The transformer is a simple device, mainly consisting of two separate coils of wire. When a moving current is applied to the first coil, a current is "induced" into the second coil. By this induction, the magnitude of the voltage in the second coil depends on the number of turns in the coil. If the number of turns in the second coil is greater than the first coil, the voltage is increased and vice versa. The first transformer was announced by L. Caulard and J. D. Gibbs in 1883 and so this device revolutionized the systems of power transmission. By generating at a low voltage, the transformer steps it up to a high voltage for transmission and then to a lower voltage where required.

Probably the first generating station in the world to serve private consumers was the Holborn Viaduct in London, which started up in 1882, supplying about 60 kilowatts of power. Also in 1882, Brighton in England had its first public supply and that year the Crystal Palace London, had its first demonstration of electric light. The Pearl Street Central Power Station in New York, was the first recorded station in America in 1882. One of the first transmission lines, was between Miesbach to Munich in Germany in 1882.

1890 - Electric Frequency

Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894) a German physicist, laid the ground work for the vacuum tube. He laid the foundation for the future development of radio, telephone, telegraph, and even television. He was one of the first people to demonstrate the existence of electric waves. Hertz was convinced that there were electromagnetic waves in space.

1890 - Fission

Otto Hahn (1879-1968), a German chemist and physicist, made the vital discovery which led to the first nuclear reactor. He uncovered the process of nuclear fission by which nuclei of atoms of heavy elements can break into smaller nuclei, in the process releasing large quantities of energy. Hahn was awarded the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1944.

1906 - Vacuum Tube Triode

Lee De Forest (1873-1961) made the first electronic amplifier - the triode(1906)

1910 - Theory of Relativity

Albert Einstein (1879-1955). Einstein's formula proved that one gram of mass can be converted into a torrential amount of energy. To do this, the activity of the atoms has to occur in the nucleus. E = energy, M = mass, and C = the speed of light which is 186,000 miles per second. When you square 186,000 you can see it would only take a small amount of mass to produce a huge amount of energy.

1917 - Cobalt Steel Magnets

K. Honda and T. Takai add cobalt to tungsten steel to dramatically increase the coercive force of permanent magnets.

1919 - Commercial Steel Magnets

The first commercially available quench-hardened steel magnets were made available.

1920 - FM Radio

Edwin Armstrong (1890-1954)invented two essential  building blocks of the radio - oscillators and frequency changers.

1930 - Alnico Magnets

I. Mishima produces the first Alnico magnet containing an alloy of iron, nickel, and aluminium.

1950 - Transistor

The transistor was invented in 1956 by John Bardeen, Walter Brittain and William Shockley.

1952 - Ceramic Magnets

J.J. Went, G.W.Rathenan, E.W. Gorter, and G.W. Van Oosterhout from the Phillips Company develop the first commercial ceramic magnets based on barium, strontium, and lead-iron oxides.

1953 - The Integrated Circuit

In 1953, Jack Kilby created the integrated circuit.

1963 - Quarks

In 1963, Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig of the California Institute of Technology proposed a theory according to which the electronic charge e might not be the fundamental charge after all. In their theory, heavy particles such as protons and neutrons consist of various combinations of particles called quarks. One quark is supposed to have charge (-1/3)e and another (-2/3)e. This theory has prompted a major search for quarks.

1966 - Rare-Earth Magnets

Dr. Karl J. Strnat at the U.S. Air Force Materials Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base discovers the high energy product (18 MGOe) of the Samarium-Cobalt (SmCo5) compound.

1972 - Advanced Rare-Earth Magnets

Dr. Karl J. Strnat and Dr. Alden Ray develop a higher energy product (30 MGOe) Samarium-Cobalt (Sm2Co17) compound.

1983 - Neodymium-Iron-Boron Magnets

General Motors, Sumitomo Special Metals and the Chinese Academy of Sciences develop a high energy product (35 MGOe) Neodymium-Iron-Boron (Nd2Fe14B) compound.

______________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Manchester Community College

Lee, E. W.:Magnetism, An Introductory Survey, Dover Publications Inc. (1970)

Moskowitz, L. R.: Permanent Magnet Design and Application Handbook, Cahners Books International, Inc. (1976)

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Ovidiu on September 30th, 2008

Posted by Jay Roberts at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY -- After twenty years of behind-the-scenes research and development and prototype testing and refinement, Prof. Leslie Szabo is now ready to launch his product for sale commercially.

The patent and patent-pending Energy-by-Motion (EBM) machine he developed runs itself using a principle of magnetic flux, and has enough juice left over to run other things.  A unit capable of putting out 15 megawatts equivalent of power, for example, would produce around 10 megawatts net to the end user.  The unit will run continuously, with no input fuel, until it is turned off.

There are fourteen different output ranges to choose from, the smallest being capable of producing 1.5 megawatts, and the largest producing 225 megawatts.  The output torque can either be used as torque or it can applied to a generator to produce electricity.... Read On .... Click Here

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon‚ Ph.D.

Syndicated columnists

What's the attraction to those magnetic bracelets?

Q: I cannot believe you would write about magnetic bracelets for arthritis. This is just a bunch of hooey designed to loosen the purse strings of gullible readers.

I am surprised you would give credence to any "study" of this nonsense.

A: We agree that magnet therapy seems far-fetched, but just because we don't understand how something works doesn't mean we should ignore it.

The well-designed study you refer to was published in the British Medical Journal (Dec. 16, 2004). The researchers randomly assigned patients to wear a bracelet containing either a strong magnet, a weak magnet or a nonmagnetic washer.

After three months the patients wearing the strong magnets had measurable relief from hip and knee pain. The investigators concluded that "Pain from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee decreases when wearing magnetic bracelets."

The placebo effect is hard to eliminate in such studies, but these scientists did their best to control for it. Even though they could not explain how magnet therapy works, they summarized: "Whatever the mechanism, the benefit from magnetic bracelets seems clinically useful."

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is considered to be a structural disorder. Usually the problem lies in the lower esophageal sphincter, that in certain patients is a little too loose at times, sending acidic stomach contents back up into the esophagus. The disease can lead to painful erosive esophagitis, or even serious conditions such as esophageal cancer.

A new clinical trial for the LINX Reflux Management System, a product of Torax Medical, Inc. (Shoreview, MN), is being conducted at selected U.S. and European centers. The device, described as a "bracelet" around the Lower Esophageal Sphincter composed of a series of miniature magnetic beads, can be implanted laparoscopically.

One of the hospitals in the United States, the UC San Diego Medical Center.. To Read More... Clcik Here...

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jay Roberts at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One limitation, related to the failure of Blackett's theory, is that any electric circuit rotating like a solid body will not produce "dynamo currents." Even if part of the circuit follows the axis of rotation, and can therefore be viewed as non-rotating, solid rotation will not create any currents. An essential feature of the Faraday disk dynamo is that part of its circuit is outside the disk, not sharing its rotation.

    The rotation of the Sun around its axis, therefore, does not by itself contribute to its magnetism. What is important in this case is that the Sun does not rotate like a solid ball. Its equator has a shorter rotation period than higher latitudes-- about 25 days for the equator, 27 days for latitude 40 degrees (the Earth meanwhile moves some distance around the Sun, so from here the period seems to be 27 and 29 days). If Earth rotated that way, Florida (for instance) would soon pull away from the rest of the US, into the Atlantic Ocean. Such an uneven motion, deforming the surface, can drive a dynamo, and in the Sun's case, it is indeed believed to be the source of sunspot magnetism.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 There are various types of magnets depending on their properties. Some of the most well known are listed below.

Permanent Magnets

These are the most common type of magnets that we know and interact with in our daily lives. E.g.; The magnets on our refrigerators. These magnets are permanent in the sense that once they have been magnetized they retain a certain degree of magnetism. Permanent magnets are generally made of ferromagnetic material. Such material consists of atoms and molecules that each have a magnetic field and are positioned to reinforce each other.

Classification

Permanent Magnets can further be classified into four types based on their composition: 1. Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB or NIB) 2. Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) 3. Alnico 4. Ceramic or Ferrite

NIB and SmCo are the strongest types of magnets and are very difficult to demagnetize. They are also known as rare earth magnets since their compounds come from the rare earth or Lathanoid series of elements in the periodic table. The 1970s and 80s saw the development of these magnets.

Alnico is a compound made of ALuminium, NIckel and CObalt. Alnico magnets are commonly used magnets and first became popular around the 1940s. Alnico magnets are not as strong as NIB and SmCo and can be easily demagnetized. This magnet is however, least affected by temperature. This is also the reason why bar magnets and horseshoes have to be taken care of to prevent them from loosing their magnetic properties.

The last type of permanent magnets, Ceramic or Ferrite magnets are the most popular today. They were first developed in the 1960s. These are fairly strong magnets but their magnetic strength varies greatly with variations in temperature.

Permanent Magnets can also be classified into Injection Moulded and Flexible magnets. Injection molded magnets are a composite of various types of resin and magnetic powders, allowing parts of complex shapes to be manufactured by injection molding. The physical and magnetic properties of the product depend on the raw materials, but are generally lower in magnetic strength and resemble plastics in their physical properties. Flexible magnets are similar to injection molded magnets, using a flexible resin or binder such as vinyl, and produced in flat strips or sheets. These magnets are lower in magnetic strength but can be very flexible, depending on the binder used.

Shape & Configuration

Permanent magnets can be made into any shape imaginable. They can be made into round bars, rectangles, horseshoes, donuts, rings, disks and other custom shapes. While the shape of the magnet is important aesthetically and sometimes for experimentation, how the magnet is magnetized is equally important. For example: A ring magnet can be magnetized S on the inside and N on the outside, or N on one edge and S on the other, or N on the top side and S on the bottom. Depending on the end usage, the shape and configuration vary.

Demagnetization

Permanent magnets can be demagnetized in the following ways: - Heat - Heating a magnet until it is red hot makes it loose its magnetic properties. - Contact with another magnet - Stroking one magnet with another in a random fashion, will demagnetize the magnet being stroked. - Hammering or jarring will loosen the magnet's atoms from their magnetic attraction.

Temporary Magnets

Temporary magnets are those that simply act like permanent magnets when they are within a strong magnetic field. Unlike permanent magnets however, they loose their magnetism when the field disappears. Paperclips, iron nails and other similar items are examples of temporary magnets. Temporary magnets are used in telephones and electric motors amongst other things.

Electromagnets

Had it not been for electromagnets we would have been deprived of many luxuries and necessities in life including computers, television and telephones. Electromagnets are extremely strong magnets. They are produced by placing a metal core (usually an iron alloy) inside a coil of wire carrying an electric current. The electricity in the current produces a magnetic field. The strength of the magnet is directly proportional to the strength of the current and the number of coils of wire. Its polarity depends on the direction of flow of current. While the current flows, the core behaves like a magnet. However, as soon as the current stops, the core is demagnetized.

Electromagnets are most useful when a magnet must be switched on and off as in large cranes used to lift cables and rods in construction.

Superconductors

These are the strongest magnets. They don't need a metal core at all, but are made of coils of wire made from special metal alloys which become superconductors when cooled to very low temperatures.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Magnetic Effect Of Current Or Electromagnetism

The term "magnetic effect of current" means that "a current flowing in a wire produces a magnetic field around it". The magnetic effect of current was discovered by Oersted in 1820. Oersted found that a wire carrying a current was able to deflect a magnetic needle. Now, a magnetic needle can only be deflected by a magnetic field. Thus it was concluded that a current flowing in a wire always gives rise to a magnetic field round it. The magnetic effect of current is called electromagnetism which means that electricity produces magnetism.

Tenets Of Electromagnetism:

Magnetic Field Pattern Due To Straight Current-Carrying Conductor

The magnetic lines of force round a straight conductor carrying current are concentric circles whose centers lie on the wire.

The magnitude of magnetic field produced by a straight current-carrying wire at a given point is:

1. Directly proportional to the current passing in the wire, and
2. Inversely proportional to the distance of that point from the wire.

So, greater the current in the wire, stronger will be the magnetic field produced. And greater the distance of a point from the current-carrying wire, weaker will be the magnetic field produced at that point.

Magnetic Field Pattern Due To A Circular Coil Carrying Current

We know that when a current is passed through a straight wire, a magnetic field is produced around it. It has been found that the magnetic effect of current increases if, instead of using a straight wire, the wire is converted into a circular coil. A circular coil consists of twenty or more turns of insulated copper wire closely wound together. When a current is passed through a circular coil, a magnetic field is produced around it. The lines of force are circular near the wire, but they become straight and parallel towards the middle point of the coil. In fact, each small segment of the coil is surrounded by such magnetic lines of force. At the center of the coil, all the lines of force aid each other due to which the strength of the magnetic field increases.

The magnitude of magnetic field produced by a current carrying wire at its center is:

1. Directly proportional to the current passing through the circular wire, and
2. Inversely proportional to the radius of the circular wire.

A current carrying circular wire (or coil) behaves as a thin disc magnet, whose one face is a north pole and the other face is a south pole.

The strength of magnetic field produced by a current carrying circular coil can be increased

1. By increasing the number of turns of wire in the coil
2. By increasing the current flowing through the coil
3. By decreasing the radius of the coil.

Solenoids

The solenoid is a long coil containing a large number of close turns of insulated copper wire. The magnetic field produced by a current carrying solenoid is similar to the magnetic field produced by a bar magnet. The lines of magnetic force pass through the solenoid and return to the other end. If a current carrying solenoid is suspended freely, it comes to rest pointing North and South like a suspended magnetic needle. One end of the solenoid acts like a N-pole and the other end a S-pole. Since the current in each circular turn of the solenoid flows in the same direction, the magnetic field produced by each turn of the solenoid adds up, giving a strong resultant magnetic field inside the solenoid. A solenoid is used for making electromagnets.

The strength of magnetic field produced by a current carrying solenoid is:

1. Directly proportional to the number of turns in the solenoid
2. Directly proportional to the strength of current in the solenoid
3. Dependent on the nature of "core material" used in making the solenoid. The use of soft iron rod as core in a solenoid produces the strongest magnetism.

Electromagnet:

An electric current can be used for making temporary magnets known as electromagnets. An electromagnet works on the magnetic effect of current. It has been found that if a soft iron rod called core is placed inside a solenoid, then the strength of the magnetic field becomes very large because the iron ore is magnetized by induction. This combination of a solenoid and a soft iron core is called an electromagnet. Thus, an electromagnet consists of a long coil of insulated copper wire wound on a soft iron core.

The electromagnet acts as a magnet only so long as the current is flowing in the solenoid. The moment the current is switched off the solenoid is demagnetized. The core of the electromagnet must be of soft iron because soft iron loses all of its magnetism when current in the coil is switched off. Steel is not used in electromagnets, because it does not lose all its magnetism when the current is stopped and becomes a permanent magnet.

Electromagnets can be made of different shapes and sizes depending on the purpose for which they are to be used.

Factors Affecting The Strength Of An Electromagnet:

The strength of an electromagnet is: 1) Directly proportional to the number of turns in the coil. 2) Directly proportional to the current flowing in the coil. 3) Inversely proportional to the length of air gap between the poles.

In general, an electromagnet is often considered better than a permanent magnet because it can produce very strong magnetic fields and its strength can be controlled by varying the number of turns in its coil or by changing the current flowing through the coil.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Uses Of Magnets in Industry

From Lodestone being used as a mariner's compass to magnetic therapy - magnets have come a long way. Magnets are used in various industries all over the world in various forms.

In Medicine And Health:

Magnetic-Therapy

Old Chinese texts dating back to 2000 B.C. make references to the application of lodestones at acupuncture sites. Similarly, Hindu scriptures of the 40th century mention the treatment of diseases with lodestones. The Greeks called them lapus-vivas (live-stones) and drew them from the fields rich in deposits of magnetic stones in southern Greece. The Egyptians ascribed a variety of therapeutic uses to lodestones. Electric eels and fish were used by Romans to treat arthritis and gout, and medieval doctors reported that magnets could cure melancholy, arthritis and baldness. Somewhere along the line, cynicism stepped in and medical science refuted the use of magnets. However, magnetic therapy was revived in the late 19th century and today Tectonic magnets are regularly used by golf, baseball and football sports celebrities for pain relief.

Magnets are also placed on insoles of shoes, and designed in a manner so as to access acupressure points on the soles of the feet. This provides great relief to the feet and rejuvenates them on long walks.

Magnetic mattress pads are also believed to be very relaxing for the body and especially aid insomniacs. Magnetic beds apparently calm the nervous system and bring emotional and physical relaxation to the body. MRIs and X-rays: While magnetic therapy has been awarded the status of 'alternate medicine' not even the most stringent scientists can deny the use of magnets in X-rays and MRIs. In the 1900's Edward M Purcell and Felix Bloch, both American physicists, developed a way to measure the magnetic field of the nuclei. This discovery led to MRI also known as Magnetic Resonance Imaging. While X-rays still remain the most popular method for a quick look under the skin, MRI machines that are used in hospitals make use of the way that tissues inside our bodies respond to magnetic fields in order to see more details than x-rays can. Brain scans and heart scans are no longer to be feared and indeed for doctors this is a gift from heaven! In Electronics

Televisions

Televisions have magnets inside of them that make them work. These cathode ray tubes have an electron gun in the neck of the tube that shoots a stream of electrons toward the screen. Normally these electrons travel in a straight line and strike the screen at a central spot.

But powerful electromagnets in the tube's neck deflect the electrons toward the top or bottom and left or right sides of the tube. The inside of the screen has a special coating that glows when the stream of electrons strikes it. In this way, magnets help us see images on the TV screen.

Computer Disks

Computer storage disks are coated with an iron material that stores tiny magnetic fields in a pattern, and that is how we store data on the computer disks. Computer screens also use magnets in a manner similar to televisions.

Video Tapes

Video tapes also use a similar material with iron compounds that allows magnetic fields to be stored in patterns on the tape.

In Industry

Magnetic Sweepers

Magnetic sweepers are used in industries to help reduce maintenance costs and eliminate flat tires at airports, loading docks and work sites.

Sorters

Magnets can also be used for sorting magnetic material from non-magnetic material. Magnets are used in the mining industry to separate metals from ore. Food manufacturers use magnets to prevent small iron particles from mixing with the food. Similarly vendors use magnets to separate coins from other junk.

Separation

Various kinds of magnetic conveyors, plates, separators, pulleys and grates are used to separate impure, ferrous material from high volume industrial flow. Similar magnets are also used to recover ferrous objects from ocean depths.

Miscellaneous:

Maglev Trains

Maglev trains operate without wheels as they 'float' above the track due to magnetic repulsion between electromagnets in the track and underside of the train. Maglev trains can travel very fast, up to 480 km/h (300 mph). These Maglev trains were launched in Japan, in 1997, and clocked at an incredible 343 miles an hour!

Credit Cards and Other ID Cards

Magnets are also used to make the everyday credit cards and other forms of ID that we use.

Around the house

Magnets are used around the house in innumerable things some of which are: Headphones, Stereo speakers, Computer speakers, Telephone receivers, Phone ringers, Microwave tubes, Doorbell ringer solenoid, Refrigerator magnets to hold things, Seal around refrigerator door, Plug-in battery eliminators, TV deflection coil, TV degaussing coil, Computer monitor deflection coil, Computer hard drive recording and reading head, Dishwasher water valve solenoid, Shower curtain weights / attach to tub, Power supply transformers and many more!

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Magnetic Axis And Geographic Axis

A freely suspended magnet always points in the North-South direction even in the absence of any other magnet. This suggests that the Earth itself behaves as a magnet which causes a freely suspended magnet (or magnetic needle) to point always in a particular direction: North and South. The shape of the Earth's magnetic field resembles that of a bar magnet of length one-fifth of the Earth's diameter buried at its center.

 

The South Pole of the Earth's magnet is in the geographical North because it attracts the North Pole of the suspended magnet and vice versa. Thus, there is a magnetic S-pole near the geographical North, and a magnetic N-pole near the geographical South. The positions of the Earth's magnetic poles are not well defined on the globe; they are spread over an area. The axis of Earth's magnet and the geographical axis do no coincide. The axis of the Earth's magnetic field is inclined at an angle of about 15o with the geographical axis. Due to this a freely suspended magnet makes an angle of about 15o with the geographical axis and points only approximately in the North-South directions at a place. In other words, a freely suspended magnet does not show exact geographical South and North because the magnetic axis and geographical axis of the Earth do not coincide.

Cause Of Earth's Magnetism:

It is now believed that the Earth's magnetism is due to the magnetic effect of current which is flowing in the liquid core at the center of the Earth. Thus, the Earth is a huge electromagnet.

Elements Of Earth's Magnetic Field

To understand the Earth's magnetic field at any place, we should know the following two quantities or elements

1. Declination
2. Angle of dip (or Inclination)

Declination

The vertical plane passing through the axis of a freely suspended magnet is called magnetic meridian. The direction of Earth's magnetic field lies in the magnetic meridian and may not be horizontal. The vertical plane passing through the true geographical North and South (or geographical axis of Earth) is called geographical meridian. The angle between the magnetic meridian and the geographic meridian at a place is called declination at that place.

 

 

The value of the angle of declination is different at different places on Earth. To find the exact geographic directions (North and South) at a place by using a magnetic compass, we should know the angle of declination at that place. The declination is expressed in degrees East (o E) or degrees West (o W). For example a declination of 2 o E means the compass will point 2 degrees east of true geographical North. Thus, the knowledge of declination at a place helps in finding the true geographical directions at that place. In every map used by surveyors, mariners and air pilots, declination for different places is indicated. It should be noted that at the places of zero declination, the compass North will coincide with the true geographical North.

Angle Of Dip Or Inclination

So far we have only considered one type of magnetic needle which can move only in the horizontal place and points approximately in the North-South direction. Now, if we take a magnetic needle which is free to rotate in the vertical plane, then it will not remain perfectly horizontal. The compass needle makes a certain angle with the horizontal direction. In fact, in the Northern Hemisphere of Earth, the North Pole of the magnetic needle dips below the horizontal line. At any place, the magnetic needle points in the direction of the resultant intensity of Earth's magnetic field at the place.

 

Angle of Dip at the Poles

The magnetic lines of force at the poles of Earth are vertical due to which the magnetic needle becomes vertical. The angle of dip at the magnetic poles of Earth is 90 o.

Angle of Dip at the Equator

The lines of force around the magnetic equator of the Earth are perfectly horizontal. So the magnetic needle will become horizontal there. Thus, the angle of dip at the magnetic equator of the Earth will be 0 o. The angle of dip varies from place to place.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 As with all great discoveries the history of magnets is very colorful and interesting too.

The Shepherd Magnes

The most popular legend accounting for the discovery of magnets is that of an elderly Cretan shepherd named Magnes. Legend has it that Magnes was herding his sheep in an area of Northern Greece called Magnesia, about 4,000 years ago. Suddenly both, the nails in his shoes and the metal tip of his staff became firmly stuck to the large, black rock on which he was standing. To find the source of attraction he dug up the Earth to find lodestones (load = lead or attract). Lodestones contain magnetite, a natural magnetic material Fe3O4. This type of rock was subsequently named magnetite, after either Magnesia or Magnes himself.

The Greek & Chinese

The earliest discovery of the properties of lodestone was either by the Greeks or Chinese. Stories of magnetism date back to the first century B.C in the writings of Lucretius and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD Roman). Pliny wrote of a hill near the river Indus that was made entirely of a stone that attracted iron. He mentioned the magical powers of magnetite in his writings. For many years following its discovery, magnetite was surrounded in superstition and was considered to possess magical powers, such as the ability to heal the sick, frighten away evil spirits and attract and dissolve ships made of iron!

People believed that there were whole islands of a magnetic nature that could attract ships by virtue of the iron nails used in their construction. Ships that thus disappeared at sea were believed to have been mysteriously pulled by these islands. Archimedes is purported to have used loadstones to remove nails from enemy ships thus sinking them.

People soon realized that magnetite not only attracted objects made of iron, but when made into the shape of a needle and floated on water, magnetite always pointed in a north-south direction creating a primitive compass. This led to an alternative name for magnetite, that of lodestone or "leading stone".

For many years following the discovery of lodestone magnetism was just a curious natural phenomenon. The Chinese developed the mariner's compass some 4500 years ago. The earliest mariner's compass comprised a splinter of loadstone carefully floated on the surface tension of water.

Early Discoveries

Peregrinus & Gilbert Peter Peregrinus is credited with the first attempt to separate fact from superstition in 1269. Peregrinus wrote a letter describing everything that was known, at that time, about magnetite. It is said that he did this while standing guard outside the walls of Lucera which was under siege. While people were starving to death inside the walls, Peter Peregrinus was outside writing one of the first 'scientific' reports and one that was to have a vast impact on the world.

However, significant progress was made only with the experiments of William Gilbert in 1600 in the understanding of magnetism. It was Gilbert who first realized that the Earth was a giant magnet and that magnets could be made by beating wrought iron. He also discovered that heating resulted in the loss of induced magnetism.

Oersted & Maxwell

In 1820 Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851 Danish) demonstrated that magnetism was related to electricity by bringing a wire carrying an electric current close to a magnetic compass which caused a deflection of the compass needle. It is now known that whenever current flows there will be an associated magnetic field in the surrounding space, or more generally that the movement of any charged particle will produce a magnetic field.

Eventually it was James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879 Scottish) who established beyond doubt the inter-relationships between electricity and magnetism and promulgated a series of deceptively simple equations that are the basis of electromagnetic theory today. What is more remarkable is that Maxwell developed his ideas in 1862 more than thirty years before J. Thomson discovered the electron in 1897, the particle that is so fundamental to the current understanding of both electricity and magnetism.

The term magnetism was thus coined to explain the phenomenon whereby lodestones attracted iron. Today, after hundreds of years of research we not only know the attractive and repulsive nature of magnets, but also understand MIR scans in the field of medicine, computers chips, television and telephones in electronics and even that certain birds, butterflies and other insects have a magnetic sense of direction.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 05:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Magnets Can Reduce Inflammation, at Least in Rats, New Research Shows

By LEE DYE
Jan. 9, 2008

A belief in the healing power of magnets has been around since ancient Greece, leading to a $5 billion a year worldwide industry that supplies millions of believers with magnets for everything from arthritis to cancer to depression.

That's despite the fact that numerous scientific studies have been either inconclusive or unable to find evidence to support the claims of their healing power.

Until now.

New research at the University of Virginia shows that there is at least some truth to the oft-cited claim that magnets can increase the flow of blood, thus providing more oxygen and nutrients to injured tissue. Researchers have shown that a mild magnetic field can cause the smallest blood vessels in the body to dilate or constrict, thus increasing the blood flow and suppressing inflammation, a critical factor in the healing process.

So far, the findings are based on experiments with rats, but the researchers hope to begin human clinical trials in the near future, although that could prove to be a major challenge.

What sets this work apart from most research into the so-called healing effects of magnets is the fact that the researchers were able to quantify their results by measuring the changes in the blood vessels to determine the impact on inflammation. ......READ MORE..............

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 20, 1998: When you have eliminated all other possibilities, Sherlock Holmes instructed, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer.

In the mysterious case of the Soft Gamma Repeaters, or SGRs, the answer appears to be a magnetar, a neutron star with a super-strong magnetic field a thousand trillion times stronger than Earth's................READ MORE

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 12, 2008

R3M technology can help remotely detect oil and gas — and reduce drilling.

How can you “hear” oil and gas hidden miles beneath the ocean floor?  Len Srnka, chief research geoscientist at ExxonMobil, is part of a team that is perfecting a new technology called R3M that does just that.

R3M stands for Remote Reservoir Resistivity Mapping.  It is a sophisticated technology based on a simple fact: that oil and gas are ..................READ MORE

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are dealing with magnets so we have to know this stuff - RIGHT??? Physics? No Problem!

 (Reuters) - The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, is the world's largest particle physics laboratory. Its scientists are preparing to start a small-scale re-enactment of the "Big Bang" that created the universe.

Following is a brief history of CERN and its advances in particle physics:

1954 - CERN was founded as one of Europe's first joint ventures, partly as a way to share the rising costs of running nuclear physics facilities. Its 12 founding members were Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia..........Click Here to read timeline

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Reuters) - Following are five facts about the 10 billion Swiss franc (5 billion pounds) Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will smash together particles at close to the speed of light after its start-up on Wednesday at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN):

* Though built to study the smallest known building blocks of all things -- known as particles -- the LHC is the largest and most complex machine ever made. It has a circumference of 27 km (17 miles) and lies 100 metres (330 feet) under the ground, straddling French and Swiss territory.

* At full power, trillions of protons will race around the LHC accelerator ring 11,245 times a second, travelling at 99.99 percent the speed of light. It is capable of engineering 600 million collisions every second.

* When two beams of protons collide, they will generate temperatures more than 100,000 times hotter than the heart of the sun, concentrated within a miniscule space. Meanwhile, the cooling system that circulates superfluid helium around the LHC's accelerator ring keeps the machine at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius (minus 456.34 degrees Fahrenheit).

* To collect data of up to 600 million proton collisions per second, physicists and scientists have built devices to measure the passage time of a particle to a few billionths of a second. The trigger system also registers the location of particles to millionths of a metre.

* The data recorded by the LHC's big experiments will fill around 100,000 dual-layer DVDs each year. Tens of thousands of computers around the world have been harnessed in a computing network called "The Grid" that will hold the information.

 © Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Without magnets what would we do? Yet another example of the importance of magnets in daily life and here with such lofty goals of exploring the origins of the universe - pretty interesting!

 By Robert Evans

GENEVA (Reuters) - Scientists at a vast underground Swiss laboratory will launch an experiment on Wednesday to re-enact the "Big Bang" on a small scale to explain the origins of the universe and how it came to harbor life.

The Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, will use giant magnets......Click Here to Read More

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON (Sept. 3) - Nearly half of U.S. adults will develop painful arthritis of the knee, a leading cause of disability, and hospitalizations for the condition are soaring, researchers reported on Wednesday.

 

During their lifetimes, an estimated 45 percent of Americans will develop knee osteoarthritis, a common kind of arthritis that wears away cartilage cushioning the knee joint, according to a study in the journal Arthritis Care & Research

 

 

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and University of North Carolina researchers based the findings on data from 3,068 people age 45 and older in North Carolina.

 

Obese people had a higher risk, with the extra weight putting additional stress on the knee joint. While 35 percent of normal-weight people got osteoarthritis of the knee, 65 percent of obese people developed it, along with 44 percent of overweight people, the researchers said.

 

"Simply put, people who keep their weight within the normal range are much less likely to develop symptomatic knee osteoarthritis as they get older, and thus much less likely to face the need for major surgical procedures such as knee replacement surgery," Dr. Joanne Jordan of the University of North Carolina, one of the researchers, said in a statement.

 

 

There were no significant differences in risk associated with sex, race or education level, the researchers said.

 

The people in the study were interviewed and were given an exam that included X-ray images of their knees.

 

In addition, a report by an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed that hospitalizations due to osteoarthritis rose to 735,000 in 2006 from 322,000 in 1993, mostly due to an increase in knee replacement operations.

 

From 2000 to 2006, knee replacement surgery rates rose 65 percent, while hip replacement surgery rates rose 21 percent, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

 

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis. It can affect any joint but most often affects the hands, hips, knees and spine.

 

It worsens over time and there is no cure. The pain can be disabling and doctors may recommend joint replacement surgery.

 

Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Maggie Fox and John O'Callaghan

 

Copyright 2008, Reuters

 

2008-09-03 21:09:08

 

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID – 41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Talk about animal magnetism, cows seem to have a built-in compass. No bull: Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world.

Most cattle that were grazing or resting tended to align their bodies in a north-south direction, a team of German and Czech researchers reports in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And the finding held true regardless of what continent the cattle were on, according to the study led by Hynek Burda and Sabine Begall of the faculty of biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

"The magnetic field of the Earth has to be considered as a factor," the scientists said.

This challenges scientists to find out why and how these animals align to the magnetic field, Begall said in an interview via e-mail.

"Of course, the question arises whether humans show also such a spontaneous behavior," she said, adding, what "consequences does it have for their health."

The study sent Tina Hinchley, who with her husband Duane operates a dairy farm in Cambridge, Wis., to take a new look at an aerial photo taken of their farm a few years ago.

"The cows that were in the pasture were all over the place ... about two-thirds were north-south," Hinchley said.

Two-thirds is close to what the researchers found in their look at 8,510 cattle in 308 pastures. In the study, 60 percent to 70 percent of cattle were oriented north-south, which Begall termed a "highly significant deviation from random distribution."

Hinchley stressed that one factor that must be considered is cow comfort.

"They don't like to get hot. Their body temperature is 102, and they are wearing black leather jackets, literally! If turning north-south would keep them cooler, they would stand that way."

The research team noted that in very windy conditions cattle tend to face the wind, and have been known to seek out the sun on cold days. But they said they were able to discount weather effects in the study by analyzing clues such as the position of the sun based on shadows.

"This is a surprising discovery," said Kenneth J. Lohmann of the biology department at the University of North Carolina. "Nothing like this has been observed before in cattle or in any large animal."

However Lohmann, who was not part of the research team, cautioned that "the study is based entirely on correlations. To demonstrate conclusively that cattle have a magnetic sense, some kind of experimental manipulation will eventually be needed."

Joseph L. Kirschvink of the California Institute of Technology said he wondered if fences around the pastures could affect cattle orientation.

Passive alignment of animals to magnetic fields has been reported in honeybees and termites, he noted. It requires some type of special sensory organ to detect the magnetic field.

"If they have evidence suggesting that mammals are using magnetic fields to orient their movements, this is very cool," said Mark A. Willis, an associate professor of biomedical sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Willis, who was not part of the research team, added, "We have only in the last few years begun to understand the mechanisms underlying magnetic field orientation in birds and other smaller animals."

Indeed, it's small animals that led to this study, Begall explained. They were researching the magnetic field effect on African mole-rats.

"At one point last year the question came up whether large animals could also sense the Earth's magnetic field or not. But of course, it is difficult, or maybe impossible, to do these studies in the lab," she said. "So, the idea arose to look for other large mammals like cattle, and Hynek Burda was fascinated when he recognized that cattle could be found on Google Earth satellite images."

With satellite images they could tell the north-south orientation of the animals, but not whether an individual cow was facing north or south. You have to get closer to tell which end is which.

Now the researchers are moving on to study sheep, goats, horses, wild boar and some further deer species, Begall added.

The current study said red and roe deer also were found to orient in a north-south direction when grazing and resting, but unlike the worldwide cattle study, the deer portion was limited to the Czech Republic.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Mary Kearl

It may surprise you how many different ways you put your health on the line, just by going to work. If you have a desk job, you may be exposing yourself to germs, allergens and toxins. And if yours is in the laboratory, fighting crime, on the road or working with your hands, you may be putting yourself at risk for being the victim of a violent crime or even developing occupational cancer. Plus, no matter what your job, how often you work and who you work with can have major repercussions on your health.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All alternative therapies, in their own way, cater to a holistic approach and involve natural substances to restore health and cure imbalance in the body.

Magnetotherapy
Magnetotherapy occupies a prominent place in non-medical modes of treatment, although its use is not very common in Pakistan. Globally it is used in conjunction with medical treatment. In India, the therapy is so advanced that it is used on its own to help cure and manage diseases.

Its theory is that disease is a result of imbalance in the electro-magnetic forces present in the body. A disturbance of the natural vibratory frequency of the cells of any part of the body gives rise to disease. Magnet therapy restores the vibratory frequency of various organs and re-establishes their balance to help restore health.

Cleopatra’s beauty is said to be a result of a small magnet she always wore. But the remedial use of the magnet was discovered by Paracelsus (1493 -1641), a Swiss alchemist who is called the father of magnetotheraphy.

Treatment by magnets is carried out on the basis that the North Pole of a magnet stimulates and the South Pole is inhibitive to growth. The strength of a magnet is called gauss; magnets of industrial use are of higher gauss and those of personal use, lower gauss.

It is believed that when magnets are kept in contact with the diseased area of the body and correct strength and gauss is applied, that part regains its natural vibratory frequency and healing ensues.

Another use of magnets is magnetised water, which is made by keeping two glass bottles, one on the North Pole and one on the South Pole of a medium-strength magnet, for 24 hours. Great healing properties have been attributed to this magnetised water and it is regularly used by many people in India. Magnetised hair oil, too, has enhanced properties to control falling hair.

Internationally the use of magnetic bracelets, belts and inner soles is very common. Needless to say, this therapy needs a certified magnet therapist. Read about more therapy choices...Click Here

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Paul Whitington
Monday February 04 2008

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The study of planets circling distant stars is scarcely more than a decade old — the fantastic assumption that planetary systems exist outside our own was first confirmed in 1991 — and already it is making exciting progress. Over 110 extrasolar planets have been detected so far. Now, a team of Canadian astronomers has found that one such planet actually is heating its parent star and leaving a telltale imprint of its travels. The finding bolsters astronomers' theoretical understanding of planetary formation and offers a new method of detecting elusive yet intriguing worlds that dance unseen in the sky.

 

Read On....

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Until the middle of the 20th century the Earth's magnetism seemed to be a happy accident of nature. Too many factors had to fit just right--the fluid core of the Earth, its electrical condctivity and its motions, all had to satisfy the strict requirements of dynamo theory.

That was before other planets in the solar system were visited and examined. Now we know that among those planets, only Venus lacks any magnetism.     

Read ON.....

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By compiling all the solar wind data gathered in the space age, NASA scientists have concluded that even though the solar magnetic field is constantly changing, it always returns to its original shape and position.

       "We now know that the Sun's magnetic field has a memory and returns to approximately the same configuration in each 11- year solar cycle," said Dr. Marcia Neugebauer, a Distinguished Visiting Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Current theories imply that the field is generated by random, churning motions within the Sun and should have no long- term memory. Despite this expectation, the underlying magnetic structure remains fixed at the same solar longitude."

       "It's interesting that the solar magnetic field varies in strength and direction, but not in longitude," said Dr. Edward Smith, senior research scientist at JPL.

       The solar wind is composed of charged particles ejected from the Sun that flow continuously through interplanetary space. The solar wind carries Read ON................

Posted by Jay Roberts at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A second magnetic levitation track is up and running at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The experimental track  was installed inside a high-bay facility at the Marshall Center this month. Marshall’s Advanced Space Transportation Program is developing magnetic levitation — or maglev — technologies that could give a space launch vehicle a "running start" to break free from Earth’s gravity. A maglev launch system would use magnetic fields to levitate and accelerate a vehicle along a track at speeds up to 600 mph. The vehicle would shift to rocket engines for launch to orbit. Maglev systems could dramatically reduce the cost of getting to space because they’re powered by electricity, an inexpensive energy source that stays on the ground — unlike rocket fuel that adds weight and cost to a launch vehicle.

The Foster-Miller experimental track accelerates a carrier to 57 mph at its peak — traveling 22 feet in 1/4 second, the equivalent of 10 times the acceleration of gravity. The tabletop track is 44 feet long, with 22 feet of powered acceleration and 22 feet of passive braking. A 10-pound carrier with permanent magnets on its sides swiftly glides by copper coils, producing a levitation force. The track uses a linear synchronous motor, which means the track is synchronized to turn the coils on just before the carrier comes in contact with them, and off once the carrier passes. Sensors are positioned on the side of the track to determine the carrier’s position so the appropriate drive coils can be energized. Engineers are conducting tests on the indoor track and a 50-foot outdoor maglev track installed at Marshall last September by NASA and industry partner PRT Advanced Maglev Systems Inc. of Park Forest, Ill. The testing is expected to help engineers better understand maglev vehicle dynamics, the interface between a carrier and its launch vehicle and how to separate the vehicle from the carrier for launch. Future work on large systems will be led by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Read On...

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s the year 2027 and NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration is progressing right on schedule. The first interplanetary spacecraft with humans aboard is on course for Mars. However, halfway into the trip, a gigantic solar flare erupts, spewing lethal radiation directly at the spacecraft. But, not to worry. Because of research done by former astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman and a group of MIT colleagues back in the year 2004, this vehicle has a state-of-the-art superconducting magnetic shielding system that protects the human occupants from any deadly solar emissions.

New research has recently begun to examine the use of superconducting magnet technology to protect astronauts from radiation during long-duration spaceflights, such as the interplanetary flights to Mars that are proposed in NASA’s current Vision for Space Exploration. Read On...

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to the hard work of two vigilant astronomers, one of the great mysteries surrounding solar magnetic fields is a mystery no longer.

The two scientists, David McKenzie of Montana State University at Bozeman and Hugh Hudson of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan, have witnessed for the first time evidence of a mysterious solar phenomenon long thought to exist, but never before seen. Known to experts as "magnetic-field line shrinkage" or "reconnection outflow," the behavior involves magnetic fields snapping back to the sun as if being pulled and then released like a rubber band.

"This is the motion weve been looking for, and now weve been able to spot it," said McKenzie.

Decades-old mystery comes to light

Read On........

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State University physicists and their colleagues have demonstrated for the first time a type of magnetic behavior that was predicted to exist more than 50 years ago.

The behavior involves a special kind of energy transition among atoms in a very small magnet, called chromium-8 (Cr8). And while scientists have long thought that the effect was controlled purely by quantum mechanics, the magnet’s behavior appears to reflect the laws of classical physics.

Oliver Waldmann

The classical laws of movement and energy are ones that people experience in daily life, and they normally only apply to objects that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. In contrast, the molecular magnet Cr8 is so small that quantum mechanics -- the science that describes the interactions of subatomic particles -- should rule its behavior.

The finding could help bridge the gap between quantum and classical approaches for understanding these tiny structures, and aid the future development of useful devices based on nanotechnology, such as very powerful, very small computers.Read on......

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Turning cancer cells into mini magnets by using nanoparticles could make biopsies so sensitive and efficient that there will be no need to repeat these invasive tests.

Biopsy results can be ambiguous: sometimes they can be negative simply because there are too few malignant cells in the sample to be detected Ð not because all trace of disease has gone. Now researchers from the University of New Mexico and the company Senior Scientific, both in Albuquerque, have come up with a solution that harnesses the power of magnetic attraction.

[More:]

The idea is to use magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles encased in a biocompatible material. These in turn can be coated with antibodies that bind to chemicals found only in cancerous cells. When injected into the body, thousands of the particles stick to cancer cells, turning them into miniature magnets. The cells can then be drawn towards magnets encased in the tip of a biopsy needle (Physics in Medicine and Biology, vol 52, p 4009).

A mathematical model of the system confirmed that significant numbers of cancer cells, laden with nanoparticles, could be attracted to a needle within two or three minutes. In the lab....Read More....Click Here

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Magnetic therapy, long derailed as pseudoscience, has just gotten a boost from a biomedical study showing how magnets can reduce swelling.

The study will likely impress manufacturers of magnetic devices, many of whom never dreamed these things could actually work and have been selling them merely to cash in on this $5-billion-a-year industry. But skeptics will have a tough time brushing this one off.

In a tightly controlled study—a rarity in the world of alternative medicine—Thomas Skalak of the University of Virginia found that static magnets reduced swelling by up to 50 percent in the tiny hind paws of rats. Skalak published his results in the November issue of the American Journal of Physiology.

Push and pull

Therapeutic magnets have a demonstrated ability to pull wads of cash from your wallet. Some magnetic back braces sell for upwards of $100. The benefits associated with magnets range, according to proponents, from curing cancer to chasing away your mother-in-law, but mostly magnets are used to treat pain from muscle aches and arthritis. Read More..............

Posted by Jay Roberts at 05:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A very interesting study and interesting read

PORTLAND, Ore. -- With the medical-magnet market growing by leap and bounds—said to be as high as $300 million in the U.S. and $5 billion worldwide--claims of medical efficacy range from curing carpal tunnel syndrome to eliminating arthritic pain. Unfortunately, no scientific study has yet to verify any of these claims. Time-varying electromagnetic fields have been scientifically verified to have positive medical effects--such as curing cancer in rats--but the static fields generated by the bracelets for wrists and ankles, and the pads for the back and feet, have never been properly scientifically tested.

Now, researchers at the University of Virginia have made the world's first scientifically verified claim for positive medical benefits from static magnetic fields, albeit the most useful medical application found by the researchers is not one claimed by bracelet and pad makers.

The new study set out to prove whether or not a static magnetic field could cause constricted blood vessels to dilate, thereby increasing blood circulation--a common claim made by companies selling magnetic therapies. What the researchers found was that the magnetic fields do, in fact, reverse constriction to dilation, as magnetic therapists claim, but more important, the magnets also caused the opposite effect: dilated blood vessels constricted. The latter--constricting dilated blood vessels--has valid medical applications in reducing inflammation after injuries, according to the study that was conducted by Professor Thomas Skalak, a University of Virginia biomedical engineer, along with his former student, Cassandra Morris, a doctoral candidate in biomedical engineering.

Once the scientists discovered that magnetic fields can....Read More.........

 

Posted by Jay Roberts at 05:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A recent study demonstrates that the use of an acute, localized static magnetic field of moderate strength can result in significant reduction of swelling when applied immediately after an inflammatory injury. Magnets have been touted for their healing properties since ancient Greece.  Magnetic therapy is still widely used today as an alternative method for treating a number of conditions, from arthritis to depression, but there hasn’t been scientific proof that magnets can heal..... To Read On Click Here...

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 It has been 35 years since humans last walked on the moon, but there has been much recent discussion about returning, either for exploration or to stage a mission to Mars. However, there are concerns about potential radiation danger for astronauts during long missions on the lunar surface.

A significant part of that danger results from solar storms, which can shoot particles from the sun to Earth at nearly the speed of light and can heat oxygen in the Earth's ionosphere and send it in a hazardous stream toward the moon.

Earth is largely protected by its magnetic field, or magnetosphere, but new University of Washington research shows that some parts of the moon also are protected by the magnetosphere for seven days during the....READ ON.....

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earth's magnetic field is fading. Today it is about 10 percent weaker than it was when German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss started keeping tabs on it in 1845, scientists say.

If the trend continues, the field may collapse altogether and then reverse. Compasses would point south instead of north. Read More.....

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Mary-Sue Haliburton
Pure Energy Systems News

Seeing the powerful earthquakes such as the December 26th, 2004 event that triggered the tsunami disaster, people are looking for possible causes for the apparent instability of earth's crust. "End-times" alarmists and backyard researchers believe that the predicted imminent reversal of the earth's magnetic field may be a significant clue to these eschatological-scale events.

Scientists have been observing changes in the direction of earth's magnetic field which took place recently as well as in the distant past. NASA’s website features a map showing the gradual northward migration of the north magnetic pole in the past century and a half. Since more than double the time interval has elapsed since the last reversal, compared to the time lapse between the previous two pole reversals, some believe we may be overdue for the next north-south flip. (1,2) However, though the interval between reversals of the Earth’s magnetic field can be as short as 5,000 years, it can also be as long as 50 million years. There does not seem to be any logic or rule governing the planet’s behavior.

It is not only the direction but also the strength of this magnetic field that is a concern. In the time of dinosaurs, at an estimated 2.5 gauss, it was eighty percent stronger than it is now. This may have been one of the reasons such gigantic life forms thrived. It is now accepted that a catastrophic event ended the reign of giant reptiles. However, they did not re-evolve to equivalent dimensions. And the disappearance of mammalian “mega-fauna” in more recent times is still considered to be a mystery. The mastodons and mammoths would have towered over modern elephants. Why are there so few large terrestrial animals today? Read More...

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Discovery
Geomagnetic Landmarks Give Turtles Sense of Where They Are, Where to Go

How sea turtles navigate across vast expanses of featureless ocean to reach feeding and breeding sites has long been a mystery. Now, clues are surfacing to indicate turtles rely partly upon invisible landmarks created by the Earth’s magnetic field.

The turtles were placed into cloth harnesses and tethered to limit their travel.

 

July 30, 2004

How turtles navigate across vast expanses of seemingly featureless ocean to reach distant feeding and breeding sites has long been a mystery of the seas. Now, clues are surfacing to indicate sea turtles rely at least partly upon an invisible map of landmarks created by the Earth's magnetic field.

While technological global positioning systems process signals from satellites, the turtles' system draws upon variations in Earth's magnetic field, which give each geographic area a distinctive magnetic pattern. New research shows that sea turtles can apparently detect and distinguish among the magnetic fields in different locations, enabling them to compile a "magnetic map" for navigating to specific feeding and nesting areas.

The findings, reported in the April 29, 2004, issue of Nature, may enhance conservation efforts to protect endangered turtle species and suggest new methods of human navigation, according to the researchers. The study was led by University of North Carolina marine biologists Kenneth and Catherine Lohmann along the Atlantic coast of Florida and was supported by a $413,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

As newly hatched turtles leave the beach and enter the sea for the first time, they use the earth's magnetic field and the direction of ocean waves as crude compasses to guide them offshore into deeper waters favorable for growth and development. The young turtles, however, use the field primarily as a source of directional information for maintaining a heading.

"Older turtles," Lohmann said, "learn to use magnetic-field information in a far more sophisticated way, as a kind of map that can be used to pinpoint specific are....Read on....http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100069&org=NSF

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new family of magnetic molecules may point the way to computer memory that can be bent and flexed like plastic. A group has synthesized three carbon-based (organic) nickel compounds that become magnetic spontaneously at room temperature--an extremely rare find. If researchers can figure out how these materials form and how to control that process, they might be able to turn similar compounds into pliable magnetic plastics.

Past examples of magnetic organic materials were either unstable in air or were mostly made of metal, making them unsuitable for linking together into a plastic, says chemist Robin Hicks of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, lead author of the study reporting the find in this week's Nature. "There's been relatively few success stories in actually making a molecule that's magnetic at room temperature," he says......Read on.....http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=321E8B66-E7F2-99DF-3954EAC629ECD324&ref=rss

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well one thing leads to another and why not look at such lofty thoughts??

E = mc². It's the world's most famous equation, but what does it really mean? "Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared." On the most basic level, the equation says that energy and mass (matter) are interchangeable; they are different forms of the same thing. Under the right conditions, energy can become mass, and vice versa. We humans don't see them that way—how can a beam of light and a walnut, say, be different forms of the same thing?—but Nature does.

So why would you have to multiply the mass of that walnut by the speed of light to determine how much energy is bound up inside it? The reason is that whenever you convert part of a walnut or any other piece of matter to pure energy, the resulting energy is by definition moving at the speed of light. Pure energy is electromagnetic radiation—whether light or X-rays or whatever—and electromagnetic radiation travels at a constant speed of 300,000 km/sec (186,000 miles/sec).

Why, then, do you have to square the speed of light? It has to do with the nature of energy. When something is moving four times as fast as something else, it doesn't have four times the energy but rather 16 times the energy—in other words, that figure is squared. So the speed of light squared is the conversion factor that decides just how much energy lies within a walnut or any other chunk of matter. And because the speed of light squared is a huge number—90,000,000,000 (km/sec)²—the amount of energy bound up into even the smallest mass is truly mind-boggling.

Here's an example. If you could turn every one of the atoms in a paper clip into pure energy—leaving no mass whatsoever—the paper clip would yield 18 kilotons of TNT. That's roughly the size of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. On Earth, however, there is no practical way to convert a paper clip or any other object entirely to energy. It would require temperatures and pressures greater than those at the core of our sun. Read on...http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/lrk-hand-emc2expl.html

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWS

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 by Sterling D. Allan
Pure Energy Systems News
Copyright © 2007

MUNICH, GERMANY – Mike Brady and I have a deeply intertwined history that dates back nearly five years. Our relationship has ranged from business associates to distant observers, but has remained mostly friendly throughout. I do believe that he has a viable technology that could potentially provide a clean energy solution for the planet, but I have not yet witnessed it in operation, though I have sought to do so a number of times, and am still in process of seeking the opportunity to go see and validate his claims, either in person or through a representative in the New Energy Congress. I still own the domain name: perendev.com, which forwards to our independent coverage at PESWiki.

I commenced my work in alternative energy in earnest largely as a result of Mike. Shortly after I commenced an index page featuring a smattering of free energy technologies in around April, 2002, Mike sent me an email with a link to his magnetic motor website. We commenced correspondence, and I began arranging to sponsor a tour of his motor throughout the United States, along with assembling a team of people to help manufacture and market the device both in the U.S. and.........Read on........http://pesn.com/Radio/Free_Energy_Now/shows/2007/02/17/9700224_Perendev/

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

P. David in 1904 and B. Brunhes detected reversed magnetic fields in lava flows from the Massif Central mountains in France. In 1926, P. L. Mercanton ( Terrestrial Magnetism, vol 31, P.187) observed reversed magnetization in both old lava flows and baked clays, and went on to suggest that such polarity reversals might be used to test the continental drift hypothesis. Also, in 1929, M. Matuyama published a paper describing polarity reversals in Japan, Manchuria and Tyosen dating from the Quaternary era.

Since then, advanced dating techniques have revealed over 60 reversals during the past 20 million years, and the last one was about 250,000 years ago.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Sun has a roughly 11-year sunspot cycle, however, with the ending of each cycle, the polarity of the Sun's magnetic field reverses so that the North magnetic pole becomes the South and vice versa. Every 22 years we end up with the polarity returned to its 'previous' state. There have been many studies of what happens to Earth's weather when these flips occur, but to my knowledge, there has been no conclusive evidence that polarity reversal does much of anything.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Possible Origin Of Magnetic Fields In Space Uncovered

Astronomers have suspected that magnetic fields in space play a key role in the makeup of galaxy clusters -- the basic building blocks of the universe.

Now, an Ohio University-led research team has uncovered what may be the origin of those fields, a finding that has eluded scientists for more than a decade.

The scientists analyzed data collected from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and discovered a series of enormous cosmic “bubbles,” formed more than 100 million years ago, that may contain and transport magnetic fields. These bubbles also may play a role in the creation of new stars in today’s galaxies, and may have been critical in the early stages of the universe.

“We think magnetism, in some locations of the universe, could have been as important as gravity in shaping the overall structure,” said Brian McNamara, an Ohio University astronomer who presented the findings Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C.

Using the Chandra observatory, an orbiting spacecraft that houses the most powerful X-ray telescope in existence, McNamara and his collaborators have been examining the forces at work in several galaxy clusters. Galaxy clusters are made of individual galaxies, hot gases and dark matter.

The researchers initially discovered that the X-ray emissions from several galaxy clusters were full of holes, or cavities, that contained bright radio emissions. These cavities probably were created by an explosion of high-energy particles, which left the radio emissions in its wake.

However, the Chandra data on another galaxy cluster known as Abell 2597, located more than 1 billion light years away from Earth, showed a surprising difference. The cluster’s cavities -­ which the researchers dubbed “ghost cavities” ­- contained only faint radio emissions. They seemed to float out of the centers of galaxy clusters like bubbles in a glass of soda pop, McNamara said. But these bubbles are 60,000 light years across in size, almost as big as the Milky Way galaxy.

The data suggest that the ghost cavities are filled with magnetic fields, which are released into the cosmos when the cavities burst apart. This could explain the strong magnetic forces that make up the structure of galaxy clusters, according to the astronomers.

“We’ve known for the past 15 to 20 years that magnetic fields exist, but we didn’t understand how they got there,” said McNamara, an associate professor of physics and astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences whose research is funded by NASA. “This could be a viable mechanism.”

The ghost cavities also may play an indirect role in star formation, according to the scientists. As the cavities move out of the center of the galaxy cluster, the surrounding gases cool and matter becomes dense, falling into a supermassive black hole in the cluster center. That triggers an explosion of radio emission, which sprays matter through the galaxy cluster. Under certain conditions, the matter may form new stars.

This process may happen from a dozen to hundreds of times during the life of the galaxy cluster, McNamara said, and most likely occurs in other galaxy clusters.

The key role of magnetic forces in galaxy clusters suggests that they also may have been an important mechanism in creating cosmic structure in the distant past, when the universe was smaller and the radio emission was more powerful, McNamara added.

Next the scientists will conduct a more detailed analysis of the properties of ghost cavities and their role in galaxy clusters.

“We have a sketch of what’s going on, but the details are foggy at this point,” McNamara said.

Collaborators on the project are Michael Wise of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Paul Nulsen of the University of Wollongong in Australia, Larry David of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Chris Carilli of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Craig Sarazin of the University of Virginia, and a group of astronomers from the Space Telescope Science Institute and the University of Virginia. - By Andrea Gibson

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The discovery of magnets was very important as they are used to make electric motors and generators. Things that would disappear if we had no electricity are telephones, lights, electric heat, computers, televisions.

Some uses of electromagnets: Maglev trains, car crushers, scrap metal sorters, telephones, computers, doorbells, tape recorders etc. Maglev trains operate without wheels as they 'float' above the track due to magnetic repulsion between electromagnets in the track and underside of the train. Maglev trains can travel very fast, up to 480 km/h (300 mph).

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For centuries travellers used compasses for navigation without understanding how they worked. For many years it was assumed that the magnetic and geographic poles were the same, a misconception that led to the early discovery of North America by Christopher Columbus in 1492. At the magnetic poles the field lines point straight up and down and so a compass there is useless.

Like all forms of magnetism the Earth's magnetic field is produced by electric currents. One theory accounting for the production of these currents is that deep in the Earth's core, hot molten magma rises, cools and sinks. Then, the whole process repeats itself. It is thought that within these rising and falling masses of magma the rotation of the Earth creates organized patterns of circular electrical currents, called eddies. The interior of the planet in fact acts like a giant dynamo.

Geophysicists have found that some of the Earth's magnetic field reversals occurred within a few 10,000 years of each other, and others, tens of millions of years apart. Lately the field has been reversing on the average, every 200,000 years, although it hasn't happened in the last 800,000 years. It is not known whether this reversal occurs gradually, or whether there is a period of time when there is no magnetic field at all. This latter possibility could have devastating effects for life on Earth, as it is the magnetic field which protects the Earth from deadly solar radiation. In fact, there appears to be good correlation between magnetic field reversals in the past and extinction of certain species. It is not known why these reversals occur, but it is as if the 'dynamo' in the Earth's core is turned off and turned on again in the opposite direction.

The Earth's magnetic field is also involved in the production of beautiful lights over the north pole called the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hundreds of years ago Chinese sailors used pieces of magnetite, made into needles, to help them find their way if they were lost. A piece of magnetite, or a bar magnet, when freely suspended, generally comes to rest pointing in a north-south direction (a compass needle is a magnet). The Earth is like a giant magnet and behaves as if there is a huge bar magnet in the centre.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The north and south ends of the Earth are called the north and south poles. Because of the Earth's iron-nickel core, the Earth behaves like a magnet. The Earth's magnetic poles are near the geographic poles.

A compass needle is also a magnet, with north and south poles. One pole of the needle is north-seeking and is marked "N", that is, it always points to the Earth's magnetic north pole. Similarly, the other pole of the compass needle, marked "S", is south-seeking and always points to the Earth's south magnetic pole.

The Earth itself acts as a magnet with two poles and an enormous magnetic field. At some places on the Earth's surface, its magnetic force is greater than at others. Moreover, the magnetic strength changes with the passage of the Moon around the Earth. The magnetic poles also shift their positions slightly from year to year. The Magnetic North Pole and the Geographic North Pole do not coincide.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ley / Li / Lei : 'The supposed straight line of a prehistoric track usually between hilltops.'

(Definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary)

Through my work as a Tour Guide to the Ancient Sites here in Cornwall, I am often asked for an explanation of Ley Lines.

A Ley Line seems to be some form of change in the earth's magnetic field. It is still, with all our technology, difficult to define the power than constitutes a Ley Line.

Whatever a Ley Line consists of, I think that birds, fish and animals use them as direction finders. I think the human race used them in a similar way in early evolution.

In a New Scientist article (19.3.1987 pp 40-43), T. Williamson points out that species as diverse as pigeons, whales, honeybees and bacteria can navigate using the earth's magnetic field. The physiological feature which enables them to do this is a tissue with a substance called magnetite in it. Magnetite enables them to sense magnetic changes and has been found in human tissue associated with the Ethmoid bone in front of the vertebrate skull.

Today Ley Lines can often be detected by 'Dowsing' either with metal rods (bent into an L shape) or with a pendulum.

I think that previous to the building of the Stone Circles (2600 to 2800 BC) man navigated by use of the Ley Lines. Traders or settlers from a more sophisticated society arrived here in Cornwall and having already lost the ability to 'feel' the Ley Lines, standing stones were set on Ley alignments. From one stone you would always be able to see the next and these stone rows led to a point where the Ley Lines crossed. Here they built a Stone Circle where they met to trade.

I believe that Stone Circles were meeting places, markets and later, places of worship. Wherever people meet is the place to preach, whether it is Paganism, Druidism or Christianity.

The origin of the word 'trivial' may throw some further light on the Stone Circles, deriving from the Roman 'Tri-via', meaning where three roads meet. At a main crossroads the Romans posted the important news. Where only three roads met they posted the local or 'Trivial' news. At these crossroads was a 'Circus' which did not mean clowns or animals, but simply a circle. The most famous circle in Britain is Picadilly Circus in London.

But of course this is just my theory, everybody had their own. But perhaps it is an idea to visit such a sight and try 'dowsing' for yourselves.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We have read about the earth's magnetic field weakening, Lobsters navigating by magnetic fields and our lives go on and who really ever thinks about magnets but yet - look how with just a bit of reading we see how intricate magnetism is GLOBALLY or should we say- Throughout the UNIVERSE

Read on....

Brian Handwerk
for National Geographic News

 

June 6, 2002

 

As a young researcher, Peter Klimley decided that it was not only safe but also important to dive freely among hammerhead sharks to acquire a better understanding of the magnificent animals. "I believe you can learn about 80 percent of what's going on in the natural world by observation," he said in a recent interview.

Some people feared disastrous consequences of such a venture. Instead, it put Klimley on the path to becoming a leading shark expert.

 

Klimley, of the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at the University of California–Davis, has been studying hammerheads and their behavior for more than 20 years. His observations of their elaborate social rituals and communication have considerably expanded knowledge of one of the most distinctive sharks.

 

There are nine species of hammerheads, which range from three to 20 feet (one to six meters) in length. They are found in the tropical and subtropical waters of oceans around the world. Klimley's current research project focuses on hammerhead sharks' little-known migration habits—knowledge that's important for the conservation of the sharks, and perhaps other marine species.

 

He is looking closely at the curious tendency of hammerheads, as well as other organisms, to school in large groups around underwater mountains. "Since the mid-80s," said Klimley, "I've been arguing that there is a whole assemblage of species that move north and south via stepping stones," or seamounts.

 

Underwater Schooling

 

For more than 20 years Klimley has been studying the behavior of scalloped hammerheads at underwater mountains, or seamounts, such as El Baho Espiritu Santo in the Gulf of California. There, he has observed breathtaking numbers of the sharks.

 

Why they create such a striking spectacle is not completely understood.

 

One thing that seems clear is that the sharks are not gathering at such locations because seamounts are a source of abundant food. In fact, the hammerheads gather at the seamount during the day but feed elsewhere at night. They leave the area at night—alone or in small groups—and spread out through the ocean for miles to feed on fish and squid.

 

Using ultrasonic telemetry, Klimley has tracked this feeding behavior. His research showed that at a certain time in the early morning, the sharks return to the seamount, generally following the same paths with remarkable regularity. They seem to use the underwater mountain as a kind of base.

 

Klimley thinks that the gathering of hammerheads around a seamount and the sharks' movements in the waters beyond may be related to their response to magnetic fields, made possible by the presence of electro-receptors at the bottom of their uniquely shaped heads.

 

More......

  Read full story

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK - Next time your about to dip that beautiful lobster in the butter sauce you can tell your dining buddies all about magnets and lobsters - who knew??

Brian Handwerk
for National Geographic News

 

January 6, 2003

 

The animal world has its share of celebrated navigators, from flocking geese to spawning salmon. A rather unlikely character, however, may soon take its place among the best of them.

 

New research suggests that Caribbean spiny lobsters, despite their limited intelligence, may be among the animal kingdom's top navigators. Their homing abilities could also provide scientists with new clues to the long-debated role of the Earth's magnetic fields in animal movements and migrations.

 

Larry C. Boles and Kenneth J. Lohmann, researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, reported their findings in the January 2003 issue of Nature. Their research suggests that spiny lobsters are able to determine their location on Earth even when transported to an unfamiliar area. The lobsters are the first invertebrates to display this ability known as true navigation.

 

Animals capable of true navigation can determine their position without relying on recognizable surroundings, cues that originate from a destination, or information collected on the journey to a given location. Only a few animals have been shown to possess true navigation—and all but the lobster are vertebrates. Birds such as the homing pigeon comprise most of the short list. However, there is some evidence that sea turtles and at least one type of migratory salamander also use true navigation.

 

In previous research, Boles and Lohmann found that Caribbean spiny lobsters used an internal magnetic compass that enables them to determine the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. "That's not very unusual in the animal world," Boles said, "but it's one important tool you need to be good navigator."

 

"We know that lots of animals use the earth's magnetic field as a compass," said Charles Walcott, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a longtime homing pigeon researcher. "But if you become lost, a compass cannot tell you where you are. What's exciting about this new work is that it provides pretty strong evidence that [Caribbean spiny lobsters] use this field not just for direction but to know where they are on the Earth."

 

Boles explained that many considered the lobsters unlikely candidates to possess advanced navigational skills like true navigation.

 

"I think that a big issue is the general thought that invertebrates, because of their relatively simple nervous systems, might not have the necessary mental capacity to do this kind of thing," Boles told National Geographic News. "They are doing the most sophisticated kind of navigation with a much simpler nervous system than other animals."

 

Test Designed to Disorient Lobsters

 

The Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is commonly found in the western Atlantic Ocean in an area stretching from Brazil to Bermuda. Some populations are migratory, but most spend their daylight hours inside coral reef dens, emerging at night to forage before returning to their homes.

 

To test the lobsters' navigation abilities, researchers Boles and Lohmann developed complicated measures to disorient and confuse the animals. The researchers were careful to ensure that lobsters were not able to determine their location from sensory information gathered while being moved.

 

Read on....

  Read full story

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well you have heard alot about "Global Warming" but have you heard about the Earth's magnetic field fading? Read on....

 

John Roach
for National Geographic News

 

September 9, 2004

 

Earth's magnetic field is fading. Today it is about 10 percent weaker than it was when German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss started keeping tabs on it in 1845, scientists say.

 

If the trend continues, the field may collapse altogether and then reverse. Compasses would point south instead of north.

 

Not surprisingly, Hollywood has already seized on this new twist in the natural-disaster genre. Last year Tinseltown released The Core, a film in which the collapse of Earth's magnetic field leads to massive electrical storms, blasts of solar radiation, and birds incapable of navigation.

 

Entertainment value aside, the portrayal wasn't accurate, according to scientists who say the phenomenon of Earth's fading magnetic field is no cause to worry.

 

"The field has reversed many times in the past, and life didn't stop," said Gary Glatzmaier, an earth scientist and magnetic field expert at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

 

Glatzmaier is keeping an eye on our planet's weakening magnetic field as he tries to learn more about how Earth's geodynamo works. The geodynamo is the mechanism that creates our planet's magnetic field, maintains it, and causes it to reverse.

 

Magnetic Shield

 

Earth's geodynamo creates a magnetic field that shields most of the habited parts of our planet from charged particles that come mostly from the sun. The field deflects the speeding particles toward Earth's Poles.

 

Without our planet's magnetic field, Earth would be subjected to more cosmic radiation. The increase could knock out power grids, scramble the communications systems on spacecraft, temporarily widen atmospheric ozone holes, and generate more aurora activity.

 

A number of Earth's creatures, including some birds, turtles, and bees, rely on Earth's magnetic field to navigate. The field is in constant flux, scientists say. But even without it, life on Earth will continue, researchers say.

 

"There are small fluctuations, which lead to nothing, and large ones, which we know from the geologic record are associated with reversals," said Peter Olson, a geophysicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

Read on.....

  Read full story

Posted by Jay Roberts at 03:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In yet another area of life that we take for granted these days as we all use our computers everyday the power of magnets touches even this area of our lives without us even giving a second thought to it.......Take a look

 

MRAM breakthrough adds ability to maintain data when powered down

 

 

Updated: 6:22 a.m. PT July 10, 2006

 

DALLAS - Achieving a long-sought goal of the $48 billion memory chip industry, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. announced the commercial availability of a chip that combines traditional memory's endurance with a hard drive's ability to keep data while powered down.

 

The chips, called magnetoresistive random-access memory or MRAM, maintain information by relying on magnetic properties rather than an electrical charge. Unlike flash memory, which also can keep data without power, MRAM is fast to read and write bits, and doesn't degrade over time.

 

Freescale, which was spun off of Motorola Inc. in July 2004, said Monday it has been producing the 4-megabit MRAM chips at an Arizona factory for two months to build inventory.  A number of chip makers have been pursuing the technology for a decade or more, including IBM Corp.

 

Read on....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13798680/

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 

In our effort to help consolidate your search findings to one specific site i.e. our Blog we have posted another in yet the series of never ending articles that ask the Sixty Four dollar question. Do these things work?? There are many opinions and many interpretations of what “works” means. We like to view this compilation of articles and educational web links as just that – an information source to glean what makes sense to you, out of it all – enjoy … The reading is interesting...

 

 

InAuthor: Jeanette Conner

Article source: http://www.advicelife.com/. Used with author's permission.

Recently, a number of articles have been published on static magnetic therapy. Static magnetic therapy is the placement of a magnet field on or near the body to enhance healing, relieve pain and improve body function. The idea of magnetism is not new. Early Chinese medical literature claimed healing properties for lodestrone, a naturally magnetic mineral. For centuries, static magnetic therapy has been used by eastern practitioners to relieve pain and swelling, and to induce healing. Since the 1950's, numerous Japanese studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of magnetic fields for treating various conditions. Many magnetic devices are registered with the Japanese Welfare Ministry as medical devices, after undergoing clinical testing at accredited medical institutions to verify their safety and effectiveness.

For many years, the Magnetic Health Science Foundation has been meeting annually in Japan to report on the growing body of evidence of the scientific technology of magnetic research. To date, there are now over 300 published articles on magnetic research.

But, do magnets really work? The answer may lie in understanding the laws of physics, and in reviewing recent scientific evidence.

We are energetic beings surrounded by naturally generated electromagnetic energy, fields of energy which are created by the spinning and moving of electrons and charged particles within the cell.

Some of the early awareness of the importance of electromagnetic energy fields was discovered when the Russian cosmonauts first spent long periods of time on board the Mir space station; they became sick. Their illnesses appeared to be caused by the lack of contact with the magnetic field surrounding the earth. Once the Russian space station was equipped with a magnetism generator, the symptoms disappeared.

All cells within the body are ordered by magnetism; the atoms and molecules are tiny magnets with a positive and negative pole. All communication within the body occurs through electric currents and the electromagnetic frequencies they generate.

According to the laws of physics, the first law of electromagnetism states that if an electron or other charged particle is moving it generates a magnetic field. The corollary to this rule is that if an electron or charged particle encounters a magnetic field it must move.

So how does this apply to magnetic therapy, healing, and pain? When a person is injured, the body immediately reacts to restore the body to its natural balanced state. In brief, the injured tissue produces a chemical reaction whereby acids are released and chemicals are brought to the injured site to begin a healing process. This chemical reaction leads to swelling which causes pain.

The theory is that when a magnetic field is placed at or near the injured site the electromagnetic field induces a current or charge in the tissues in the body. This charge causes the toxins (acids and other chemicals) to move, the toxins are removed and excreted, and a natural healing state ensues. As this change occurs, the blood flow to the injured site is improved, the swelling is reduced, and pain is alleviated.

Some scientists believe that magnetic therapy causes the body to dispose of waste materials (toxins) more quickly and speeds up the healing process. Numerous studies have been conducted on the effects of static magnetic therapy in Asia and Europe. Recently, scientists in the US have begun reporting their results of the effectiveness of magnetic fields.

Magnetic therapy has been found to be effective in alleviating burning, numbness and tingling, and exercise induced foot pain in patients with diabetic neuropathy (Weintraub 1998, 1999, 2003); in alleviating neuropathic pain in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (Weintraub & Cole 2000); in alleviating pain in people suffering from osteoarthritis in the knees and hips (Harlow 2004, Hinman 2002, Pipitone 2001, Wosko 2004); and in other chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (Segal 2001), fibromyalgia (Alfono 2001, Thomas 2001) and chronic back pain (Collacott 2000).

Although the scientific research in the United States is still in the early stages compared to the Asian and European studies, static magnetic therapy has been shown to have no detrimental side effects and has great promise for those suffering from chronic painful conditions.

For more information on magnetic studies and where to find magnetic devices, go to our website: www.mayaintegratedmedicine.org or email us at:info@mayaintegratedmedicine.org

Jeanette M. Conner PhD, MS, MN, ARNP

Dr. Conner is the President and Director of the Maya Center for Integrated Medicine & Research in Shelburne Vermont; a health and wellness center focused on providing comprehensive traditional and complementary services while encouraging individual healing through self care. Dr. Conner is an Associate Professor of Clinical Research at Dartmouth Medical School, Department of Community & Family Medicine. She has conducted clinical research in health care for over 10 years, and now focuses her efforts on teaching others to promote their health and heal illness through the use of mind-body-spirit medicine.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The fields of electricity and magnetism are intimately intertwined. However, humankind’s knowledge of magnetism and static electricity began more than 2,000 years before they were first recognized to be separate (though interrelated) phenomena. Once that intellectual threshold was crossed – in 1551 – scientists took more bold steps forward (and more than a few steps back) toward better understanding and harnessing these forces. The next 400 years would see a succession of discoveries that advanced our knowledge of magnetism, electricity and the interplay between them, leading to ever more powerful insights and revolutionary inventions.

This timeline highlights important events and developments in these fields from prehistory to the beginning of the 21st century. It also includes related developments in other disciplines (such as the evolution of computers). 

600 BC - 1599 - Humans discover the magnetic lodestone as well as the attracting properties of amber. Advanced societies, in particular the Chinese and the Europeans, exploit the properties of magnets in compasses, a tool that makes possible exploration of the seas, “new worlds” and the nature of Earth’s magnetic poles.

1600 - 1699 - The Scientific Revolution takes hold, facilitating the groundbreaking work of luminaries such as William Gilbert, who took the first truly scientific approach to the study of magnetism and electricity and wrote extensively of his findings.

1700 - 1749 - Aided by tools such as static electricity machines and leyden jars, scientists continue their experiments into the fundamentals of magnetism and electricity.

1750 - 1774 - With his famous kite experiment and other forays into science, Benjamin Franklin advances knowledge of electricity, inspiring his English friend Joseph Priestley to do the same.

1775 - 1799 - Scientists take important steps toward a fuller understanding of electricity, as well as some fruitful missteps, including an elaborate but incorrect theory on animal magnetism that sets the stage for a groundbreaking invention.

1800 - 1819 - Alessandro Volta invents the first primitive battery, discovering that electricity can be generated through chemical processes; scientists quickly seize on the new tool to invent electric lighting. Meanwhile, a profound insight into the relationship between electricity and magnetism goes largely unnoticed.

1820 - 1829 - Hans Christian Ørsted’s accidental discovery that an electrical current moves a compass needle rocks the scientific world; a spate of experiments follows, immediately leading to the first electromagnet and electric motor.

1830 - 1839 - The first telegraphs are constructed and Michael Faraday produces much of his brilliant and enduring research into electricity and magnetism, inventing the first primitive transformer and generator.

1840 - 1849 - The legendary Faraday forges on with his prolific research and the telegraph reaches a milestone when a message is sent between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, MD.

1850 - 1869 - The Industrial Revolution is in full force, Gramme invents his dynamo and James Clerk Maxwell formulates his series of equations on electrodynamics.

1870 - 1879 - The telephone and first practical incandescent light bulb are invented while the word “electron” enters the scientific lexicon.

1880 - 1889 - Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison duke it out over the best way to transmit electricity and Heinrich Hertz is the first person (unbeknownst to him) to broadcast and receive radio waves.

1890 - 1899 - Scientists discover and probe x-rays and radioactivity, while inventors compete to build the first radio.

1900 - 1909 - Albert Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity and his theory on the quantum nature of light, which he identified as both a particle and a wave. With ever new appliances, electricity begins to transform everyday life.

1910 - 1929 - Scientists’ understanding of the structure of the atom and of its component particles grows, the phone and radio become common, and the modern television is born.

1930 - 1939 - New tools such as special microscopes and the cyclotron take research to higher levels, while average citizens enjoy novel amenities such as the FM radio.

1940 - 1959 - Defense-related research leads to the computer, the world enters the atomic age and TV conquers America.

1960 - 1979 - Computers evolve into PCs, researchers discover one new subatomic particle after another and the space age gives our psyches and science a new context.

1980 - 2003 - Scientists explore new energy sources, the World Wide Web spins a vast network and nanotechnology is born.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Questions that often come up are, "How do magnets work?", or, "Why is iron magnetic?", or, "What makes a magnet?", or, "What is the magnetic field made of?".

Those are good questions, and deserve a good answer.  However, did you know that there is a lot about magnets at the atomic level that isn't known yet?  Just like with most of the other basic forces we are familiar with, such as gravity, electricity, mechanics and heat, scientists start by trying to understand how they work, what they do, are there any formulas that can be made to describe (and thus predict) their behavior so we can begin to control them, and so on. 

The work always starts by simple observation (that's the fancy word for playing around with the stuff!).  That's why it's so important to have some "hands-on" experience with magnets.  Have you taken two magnets and tried to push like poles together?  How far away do you start to feel the repulsion?  How does the force vary with the distance between them?  When the magnets are moved off-axis to each other (moving them to the side and not head on) what does it feel like?  Could you describe it like trying to push two tennis balls together?  When you flip one around, what changes?  What about moving one around the other in a circle?  Try these things!  That's how you learn!  Only when you play with (observe) them will you begin to understand how they work. This is the stuff great scientific pioneers did, like Faraday, Lenz, Gilbert, Henry and Fleming. 

 

Read on  -

http://my.execpc.com/~rhoadley/maghow.htm

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In our never ending quest for knowledge regarding magnets, living organisms and credible science we found the following article incredibly interesting. Take a read and give us your comments on the usefulness and interest level of this and any other of our postings we hope you find conveniently put together on one source blog.acemagnetics.com

 

Of Mice & Magnets

BY FRANK STEPHENSON

 

 

We do not deny the possibility of there being invented some day magnets enormously more powerful than any yet known to us, which may produce effects upon the nervous system perceptible to some of the sensory organs". For the time, the comment might well have been taken as a magnanimous concession by learned men of science to noisy boosters of using simple magnets to cure the sick. Surely stung by the final conclusion reached by the writers—their research equated the benefits of using magnets as medicine to those of being treated with a block of wood—at least the advocates of magnetic therapy had gotten their day in scientific court. The year was 1892. The experiment, conducted at the Edison Laboratory in Orange, New Jersey, was aimed at testing claims made by "adherents and earnest promulgators" of using magnets to treat various human ailments. Dr. Frederick Peterson, chief neurologist at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons, and A.E. Kennelly, the Edison lab's chief electrician, had reached their findings after exposing frogs, a dog and finally a boy to the strongest magnetic field ever used in such a test—a field 300 times stronger than Earth's own magnetic field. Peterson and Kennelly were unequivocal. If magnets of such great power had no observable effects on living things, then it surely followed that the ordinary magnets in the hands of dubious medical practitioners of the day had none either. It was a skeptic's holiday. Turn the clock up a century, and picture Peterson and Kennelly standing in front of a typical, experimental magnet within the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. Imagine their awe at seeing a live frog levitated, afloat on invisible forces strong enough to defy gravity; or seeing magnetically drawn pictures of the insides of a living brain. Or seeing what happens to a Tom Houpt rat. Last year, Houpt, a young Ph.D. from Harvard and an FSU biologist only since 1997, shared a genuinely rare moment in science with colleague and veteran researcher Jim C. Smith as the two men followed up on a hunch..... Read on http://www.rinr.fsu.edu/issue2001/mice.html

 

  Read full story

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We find it incredibly ingenious to think of tapping into the power of magnets to address the problem of jetlag. Here is but another example of an “unproven” science being considered by a pretty credible source. This does not mean magnets work but it does provide yet another thread in the long tapestry of possible applications of magnets and the human race. If nothing else this “invisible force” continues to intrigue and capture our attention and curiosity even still…..What do you think? Let us know if you have a “Magnetic” story to tell by responding to this article on our blog – Thank you   Airbus patenting way to eliminate jet lag New! Comment | Email | Print | Rated: 90% by 1 user(s). Friday August 25, 2006 11:41 AM EST - By: T.O. Whenham

Jet lag sucks. There is nothing worse than feeling like you have been run over by a truck after you fly somewhere. Airbus is seeking a patent for a device that they claim will make jet lag a distant memory. The solution involves some sort of "electromagnetic interaction" that would be in each passenger's seat. Kind of like one of those magnetic bracelets that is supposed to do wonders I guess, only not in bracelet form. Airbus claims in the patent application that the technology can prevent and reduce jet lag, make people feel more relaxed, promote sleep, reduce stress and even cut down on thrombosis. Sounds great, but the only thing I can think of is that magnets and credit cards aren’t friends, so everyone could end up with useless pieces of plastic after a flight. I’m sure they’ve thought of that, though... right? There’s no word, of course, if and when this would actually show up in a plane.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 06:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reported October 13, 2006

Using Magnets to Deliver Medication

By Vivian Richardson, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

CHICAGO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's still a long way off, but one day doctors may use magnets placed both inside and outside a patient's body to direct medications to a precise location. A new study reveals the concept works in animals.

Engineers and doctors at Drexel University in Philadelphia wanted to find a way to re-medicate stents -- small wire mesh tubes used to hold blood vessels open. In the past, these "scaffolding" devices for diseased or damaged blood vessels would sometimes cause a new blockage until doctors developed drug-eluting stents. The medications coated on the device helps keep the vessels healthy. When the medication runs out, clots can sometimes form and lead to heart attacks or strokes.

"Stents are limited at this point to the single dose that is on the stent at the time of surgery," Frederick Stoddard, M.D., a surgical resident at Drexel University College of Medicine, told Ivanhoe. He helped create and test a magnetic stent along with Zachary Forbes, Ph.D. When magnetized medications are injected into the patient, the drugs are attracted to the magnetic stent. "One of the great things about this is that we can target the stent with virtually any drug we want repeatedly. We can do this through intravenous injection, which means you don't have to do an additional invasive procedure," Dr. Stoddard said.

  Read full story

Posted by Jay Roberts at 04:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On July 10, 2005, the Suzaku (formerly Astro-E2) spacecraft successfully launched from the Uchinoura Space Center in Japan. Suzaku is a collaborative project between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

 

Suzaku is an astronomy spacecraft used to monitor X-rays emitted by stars, galaxies, and black holes. To complete its mission, Suzaku uses several X-ray detectors, including one called the XRS.

 

In order for the XRS to operate correctly, its microcalorimeter must be kept at temperature of 60 millikelvin. An adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) with a Cryomagnetics' superconducting magnet installed is used to achieve the ultralow temperature required by XRS. This is believed to be the first superconducting magnet application in space. Click here to read more....

 

  Read full story

Posted by Jay Roberts at 02:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So? What's new in the wonderful world of magnets and that big world around us these days? It's funny how all of a sudden when you start to look at a subject like magnets how amazing they really are. For example take a look at the following link talking about "Magnets" and the possible use by this major air carrier ...

  Read full story

Posted by Jay Roberts at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)