What is the history of magnets?
The ancient Greeks and Chinese discovered that certain rare stones, called lodestones, were naturally magnetized. These stones could attract small pieces of iron in a seemingly magical way and always pointed in the same direction when allowed to swing freely, suspended from a string or floating on water. Early sailors used these magnets as rudimentary compasses to determine their direction at sea.
The word "magnet" comes from Magnesia, a district in Thessaly, Greece, where the first lodestone is believed to have been mined.
Over the years, magnets have evolved into the high strength materials we have today. It was discovered that by making alloys of different materials, effects similar to those in natural stones could be achieved and magnetism could be increased.
However, it was not until the 18th century that the first artificial magnets were created. Progress in producing stronger magnetic alloys was very slow until the 1920s, when alnico magnet materials (an alloy of nickel, aluminum and cobalt) were formulated. Ferrite magnets were developed in the 1950s and rare earth magnets in the 1970s. Since then, the science of magnetism has grown exponentially, and extremely strong magnetic materials have made miniature and high performance devices possible.
