A compass is an excellent classroom tool for the exploration of magnetic fields. Any student can tell you that a compass is used to determine which direction is north, but when paired with some basic trigonometry, the compass can be used to actually measure the strength of the magnetic field due to a nearby magnet or current-carrying wire. In this…

The paper on "Magnetism and Simultaneity" by Adler provides an excellent new thought experiment involving the lack of simultaneity in Einstein's special relativity. Adler uses the lack of simultaneity rather than the Lorentz contraction to derive the formula for the magnetic force on a moving charged particle. Advantages of his derivation are that…

This paper overviews the occurrence and study of magnetism on nanometer-length scales, that is, at sizes where the natural unit on a ruler would be one-billionth of a meter. Nanomagnetism has fascinating early origins on planet Earth, and we must first go back a couple billion years to get to the beginning of the story. Then we will quickly make…