If shrunken down to micron size, a compass needle could wobble. (Courtesy: iStockphoto/tobias machhaus) A tiny magnetic needle just 10 μm long could be used to create a magnetic-field sensor that – if ...

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Basel have succeeded in changing the polarity of a special ferromagnet using ...

Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field generated by electric currents from within the planet. Compasses take advantage of this field to identify north and serve as a navigational aid. But one social ...

At some point during our primary school careers, most of us probably constructed a simple compass, often by floating a magnetized needle on a cork in a cup of water. The water in such a configuration ...

The geomagnetic field is generated by fluid convection in Earth’s core. How this dynamo works is complicated, and the field that the core produces is not symmetric. This has been something of a ...

A magnetic field is invisible, but it can be detected using a magnetic compass. A compass contains a small bar magnet on a pivot so that it can rotate. The compass needle points in the direction of ...