An illustration of a loadstone (or lodestone) from "De Magnete" by William Gilbert. A loadstone is a piece of magnetite that has magnetic properties and attracts iron or steel. William Gilbert (1544-1603) was an English physician, physicist and natural philosopher whose primary scientific work was De (1600) (On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies, and on the Great Magnet the Earth), and who is credited as one of the originators of the term "electricity.

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William Gilbert, Loadstone, 1600

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Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1600, 16th, 17th, art, century, colorized, cut, de, earth, enhanced, field, geomagnetic, gilberd, gilbert, history, illustration, loadstone, lodestone, magnet, magnete, magnetic, magnetism, magnetite, piece, properties, science, william