Latitude and the Magnetic Earth: The True Story of Queen Elizabeth’s Most Distinguished Man of Science

Description

"William Gilbert, royal physician to Queen Elizabeth I, was the most distinguished man of science to emerge from her reign. He is the inventor of the term 'electricity', the father of electrical studies, the creator of modern magnetic science and - most famously - the discoverer of the Earth's magnetic nature. Yet, incredibly, he is largely unknown." Through close contact with the foremost mariners of his time, Gilbert learnt of the strange behaviour of a compass needle - the magnetic 'dip'. Theorising that the Earth is a giant magnet, a great body imbued with a 'magnetic soul', Gilbert's writings challenged the scientific orthodoxy of his day, and boldly led the battle to establish our modern ideas of terrestrial magnetism. ISBN:9781840464863