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Re: Earth's Magnetic Field



|The whole business is easy if you recognize that the magnetic pole of
|the Earth which is located in the northern part of the planet is a
|*south*-seeking pole. It therefore attracts the opposite poles of
|compasses, the north-seeking poles. This way the north poles of
|compasses point roughly north and navigators go in the right direction.

Wait a minute here, Folks, let us be clear with our language: A
"'south'-seeking pole" is a NORTH pole -- the confusion comes from the
modifier "seeking":

There is a SOUTH pole in the north and this pole would "seek" (ie be
attracted to) a north pole of a compass -- and the north end of a compass
to that SOUTH pole -- which is in the north. (:-) I know it is in the
north because the north star is in that direction -- in the direction of
the SOUTH magnetic pole -- which is in the north. This SOUTH pole is a
NORTH-_seeking_ pole.

The history of this is that long long ago in a province of Asia Minor,
which was called Magnesia, (It is called Magnesia because the cows there
eat the grass and then produce Milk of Magnesia) There one day a young
fellow picked up a rock and hung it by a thread, He noticed that one end
of the rock always pointed in the same directions -- ie the direction of
the North Star -- so he called that end the NORTH end of the rock --
because it pointed north.

He collected several of these magic rocks and carried them home. Later he
was working in his father's lab and noticed that the north end of each of
his rocks always pointed at the south end of another rock. He concluded
therefore that there must be a SOUTH pole in the direction of the North
Star, which is in the north, near to where the SOUTH magnetic pole of the
Earth lies -- in the north. And he learned that there is a south end of
each rock opoposite to the north end -- which north end is attracted to a
south end and therefore the north end is a is a south seeking end.

This SOUTH pole seemed to attract the north ends of his rocks. Thus the
South magnetic pole of the Earth is in the north and is a North seeking
South pole which is in the north.

Isn't this fun.

Now if geologists and equipment manufacturers could just learn this and
teach it correctly, we all would be in better shape

Jim Green
mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen