How does a magnetic compass work? Well, it’s all down to basic physics and human ingenuity. The key component of a standard baseplate compass is its magnetized needle, which is allowed to spin freely ...

Some inventions are so simple that it’s hard to improve them. The magnetic compass is a great example — a magnetized needle, a bit of cork, and a bowl of water are all you need to start navigating the ...

A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetism: the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a ...

The magnetic compass that birds use for orientation is affected by polarized light. That is the finding of researchers in Sweden, who studied zebra finches navigating a simple maze and found that the ...

Everyone knows that when you hold a compass in your hand the needle will point north thanks to Earth's magnetic field, but aside from simple navigation you probably don't spare much thought for our ...

A ship’s steel hull becomes part of Earth’s magnetic field, which can quietly skew a magnetic compass in different directions as the vessel turns and heels. This explains how binnacle correctors work, ...

Here’s an amazing fact: Adult robins have a magnetic compass in their right eye that allows them to sense the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field, and navigate when all other landmarks are ...

The magnetic compass is the last unknown sense in migrating animals. For some scientists, the monarch butterfly is leading ...

When monarch butterflies wing their way south to central Mexico each fall, they use the sun to ensure that they stay on course. But how they head in the right direction on cloudy days has been a ...

Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) can learn to associate food with the geomagnetic signatures of various oceanic regions, suggesting that they are able to find known foraging areas using an ...

Physicists have designed an experiment to explain the concept of magnetic resonance. A versatile technique employed in chemistry, physics, and materials research, magnetic resonance describes a ...