Magnetism, from the Dawn of Civilization to Today

1.1 1.1 The Discovery of Lodestone and the Observation of Magnetic Phenomena through the Ages

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The oldest manuscript that mentions the existence of lodestone is the work of a Chinese writer, Guanzhong (died 645 BC), but objects made from magnetic materials have been found in archaeological sites dating from much further back.

1.2 1.1 OBJECTS MADE FROM IRON AND LODESTONE IN ANCIENT TIMES

Small tubular beads made from iron of meteoritic origin (containing at least 7.5% nickel) were discovered in many Sumerian and pre-dynastic Egyptian tombs (fourth millenium BC). These appear to be the oldest traces of ferromagnetic objects wrought by human hands. The question remains, however, as to whether their “attractive properties” had been discovered in these distant times. The ancient Egyptians, who called iron bia—n—pet(= metal from the sky), did not study the metallurgy of iron until relatively late, and certainly after the Hittites, who did so about 1500 BC; the tomb of Tutankhamon (1340 BC)...