On Earth, the magnetic field of our planet points a compass north, but in space, things are a bit more complicated. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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 ...

Atomic physicists “are jacks of all trades,” according to Alex Sushkov. “You have to have the idea, design the experiment, build the experiment, run the experiment, fix everything, take data, analyze ...

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 ...

Many migratory birds use Earth’s magnetic field as a compass, but some can also use information from that field to determine more or less where they are on a mental map. Eurasian reed warblers ...

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

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, ...

Our protective blanket helps shield us from unruly space weather. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Earth's magnetic field — also ...

Researchers have developed an innovative method to study ultrafast magnetism in materials. They have shown the generation and application of magnetic field steps, in which a magnetic field is turned ...

The movement of the magnetic North Pole is the result of the Earth having an active core. The inner core, starting about 3,200 miles below your feet, is solid and under such immense pressure that it ...

Earth’s magnetic north pole has shifted toward Russia, prompting updates to GPS and navigation systems worldwide. Scientists track this invisible movement to keep technology accurate.