Magnetism--Uses Beyond Imagination
It was sixth hour of a hot day in May. My physics kids were in
a crabby mood. They had complained about everything from the
heat to the English teacher, and my attempts to get them to understand
the complexities of magnetism were being greeted with eye rolling
and lung collapsing sighs. "What is all this magnetism stuff
good for?" growled one of my more vocal students. "I
quit playing with scottie magnets when I was five and I see no
reason to start in again." I love to hear a challenge like
that because it opens the door for an opportunity to let my students
see why what I am doing in my classroom is relevant to their lives.
In reality, magnetism is a carefully designed property of matter
that is still not fully understood. Electrons have a magnetic
orientation so every electron has a north and a south pole. This
is a contributing factor for chemical bonding because, if two
electrons are near each other, their polarities will cause a magnetic
force that either pushes them apart or pulls them together (see
figures A and B). This pairing helps electrons to form the huge
number of varieties of molecules that allow all the things we
are dependent upon. There are three classifications of materials
as far as their magnetic properties are concerned--para- magnetic,
diamagnetic, and ferromagnetic--based upon how easily the materials
can be magnetized and how long they will retain their magnetism.
The earth's core is believed to be made of heavy elements which
turn out to be ferromagnetic. This design allows the earth to
have a magnetic field, and this field shields us from dangerous
radiation which would otherwise pose problems for living things.
In recent years it has been discovered that many migrating forms
of life have a section of their brains which have ferromagnetic
materials in them. These sections allow the animals to use the
earth's magnetic field as a navigating tool which is independent
of weather or time of day. Mankind has used magnets to generate
electricity, produce motors, step electricity up and down, produce
radio and television, and even to look into the human body and
see things not visible with x-rays or ultrasound.
Magnetism is a vital part of our lives, and it exists because
it is designed into the very fabric of matter. God's creation
is amazingly usable for a unimaginable variety of purposes. Truly
we can know God is through the things He has made (
Rom. 1:18-22).
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