Lodestone
Encyclopedia : L : LO : LOD : Lodestone
Lodestone or loadstone refers to either:
- A piece of intensely magnetic magnetite that was used as an early form of magnetic compass.
Iron, steel and ordinary magnetite are attracted to a
magnetic field, including the
Earth's magnetic field. Only magnetite with a particular
crystalline structure, lodestone, can act as a natural magnet and attract and magnetize iron. The direction pointing nature of lodestone was known as far back as 4th century
China, where it was used in
geomancy. By the 12th century the Chinese were known to use the lodestone compass for navigation, but far earlier
Magnetotactic bacteria had learned the trick. Magnetotactic bacteria build miniature magnets inside themselves and use them to determine their orientation relative to the Earth's magnetic field [
link].
See also
External links
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