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The Earth's magnetic field at 0.5 gauss is too weak to magnetize a lodestone by itself. [9] [10] The leading theory is that lodestones are magnetized by the strong magnetic fields surrounding lightning bolts. [9] [10] [11] This is supported by the observation that they are mostly found near the surface of the Earth, rather than buried at great ...
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]
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).
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).
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.
To deduce the properties of minerals in the deep Earth, it is necessary to know how their density varies with pressure and temperature. Such a relation is called an equation of state (EOS). A simple example of an EOS that is predicted by the Debye model for harmonic lattice vibrations is the Mie-Grünheisen equation of state:
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.
Iron can be obtained on the Earth's surface from meteorites; the mineral lodestone is rich in the magnetic mineral magnetite and can be magnetized by a lightning strike. In his Natural History , Pliny the Elder recounts a legend about a Magnes the shepherd on the island of Crete whose iron-studded boots kept sticking to the path.