The Mystery of Electromagnetism

To ancient civilizations, electricity and magnetismMagnetism had mystical qualities suggesting some type of supernatural force. Not surprisingly, ancient physicians tried to harness this force to treat a variety of illnesses. In the mid-sixteenth century, William Gilbert made the first clear distinction between electricity and magnetismMagnetism and his contemporary Roger Bacon proposed a general theory of magnetismMagnetism as a force acting at a distance. Their work marked the beginning of modern scientific methodology. To deal with the conflict between religion and the new science, Rene Descartes proposed a two-universe solution, one that obeyed physical laws and the other that only God could understand. Descartes’ theory on brain function led to the bizarre conclusion that animals could not feel pain because they lacked a soul localized in the pineal gland. Several early scientists including Roger Bacon saw a parallel between magnetismMagnetism and gravity although Isaac Newton saw them as two different forces acting at a distance. Edmond Halley was the first to suggest that the Earth’s magnetismMagnetism came from forces deep below the Earth’s surface.