Whilst it’s always fun to quote the Insane Clown Posse’s single Miracles the answer to the question they posit, how do magnets work, is something that I myself had not completely understood. Most engineering students will know the relationship that electric currents and magnetism share but ask any of them to explain how natural magnets work and you’d likely get the same blank stare and jumbled answer I would have given before I had watched the video below:
What really fascinated me about natural magnets is the fact that its one of the few natural phenomena that can only be explained on a quantum level. This is likely the reason why the mechanism isn’t common knowledge as some of this stuff was above even my university level experience (although I was hardly a physics or hard science major). This new found understanding hasn’t exactly changed how I view the world but its certainly going to be a great little conversation topic come my next meeting with my more nerdy brethren.
