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The process by which lodestone is created has long been an open question in geology. Only a small amount of the magnetite on the Earth is found magnetized as lodestone. Ordinary magnetite is attracted to a magnetic field as iron and steel are, but does not tend to become magnetized itself; it has too low a magnetic coercivity.
Magnetite crystals with a cubic habit are rare but have been found at Balmat, St. Lawrence County, New York, [47] [48] and at Långban, Sweden. [49] This habit may be a result of crystallization in the presence of cations such as zinc. [50] Magnetite can also be found in fossils due to biomineralization and are referred to as magnetofossils. [51]
Ancient people learned about magnetism from lodestones (or magnetite) which are naturally magnetized pieces of iron ore.The word magnet was adopted in Middle English from Latin magnetum "lodestone", ultimately from Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnētis [lithos]) [1] meaning "[stone] from Magnesia", [2] a place in Anatolia where lodestones were found (today Manisa in modern-day Turkey).
Iron(II,III) oxide, or black iron oxide, is the chemical compound with formula Fe 3 O 4.It occurs in nature as the mineral magnetite.It is one of a number of iron oxides, the others being iron(II) oxide (FeO), which is rare, and iron(III) oxide (Fe 2 O 3) which also occurs naturally as the mineral hematite.
Rock magnetism is the study of the magnetic properties of rocks, sediments and soils. The field arose out of the need in paleomagnetism to understand how rocks record the Earth's magnetic field. This remanence is carried by minerals, particularly certain strongly magnetic minerals like magnetite (the main source of magnetism in lodestone).
With the exception of extremely rare native iron deposits, it is the most magnetic of all the naturally occurring minerals on Earth. Naturally magnetized pieces of magnetite, called lodestone, will attract small pieces of iron, which is how ancient peoples first discovered the property of magnetism.
Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other.Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, magnetism is one of two aspects of electromagnetism.
Magnetic mineralogy is the study of the magnetic properties of minerals. The contribution of a mineral to the total magnetism of a rock depends strongly on the type of magnetic order or disorder. Magnetically disordered minerals (diamagnets and paramagnets) contribute a weak magnetism and have no remanence.