Magnetism

Have you ever wondered how a colorful magnet holds your drawing on the refrigerator door? That’s me. I am a secret, invisible power that can push and pull things without ever touching them. Sometimes, I make two things stick together like best friends giving each other a big hug. Other times, I can make them push apart, like they are playing a game of keep-away and don't want to get tagged. I am a mysterious force that is all around you, playing games of push and pull with the world. You can’t see me, but you can see all the amazing things I do every single day. I love making people wonder how I work.

My story with people began a very, very long time ago. Shepherds in a place called Magnesia were walking in the mountains when they found strange, dark rocks. The iron tips of their walking sticks and the nails in their sandals kept getting stuck to these rocks. It was like the rocks were trying to grab them. They called these special rocks lodestones, which means “leading stones.” Why? Because they soon discovered my biggest secret. If they let a piece of lodestone float in water, it would always, always turn to point in the same direction. It always pointed north. This was pure magic to them. Sailors realized they could use me to cross giant oceans without getting lost. They built a special tool called a compass, which is a tiny lodestone needle that always shows the way. Many years later, a very clever person named William Gilbert studied me and realized that the entire Earth acts like one giant magnet, and that’s why my lodestones always knew which way was north.

After all this time, I can finally tell you my name. I am Magnetism. I am the invisible energy that does so much more than just hold things on your fridge. Do you have a toy car that zips across the floor? I am inside the little motor that makes its wheels spin. On a hot day, do you feel the cool air from a fan? I am helping its blades turn round and round. I even help computers remember all of your favorite games and stories by arranging tiny, tiny particles in a special order. I am a powerful helper, always working behind the scenes. From helping the earliest explorers find new lands to powering the toys you play with today, I am always here, connecting things and pointing the way forward. I am the invisible magic that helps run your world.