On the magnet, magnetick bodies also, and on the great magnet the earth by Gilbert et al.

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On the magnet, magnetick bodies also, and on the great magnet the earth by Gilbert et al.

(3 User reviews) 613

By Avery Mendoza Posted on Feb 15, 2026

In Category - Early Education

Authors: Published By :

Book Language: English

Okay, hear me out. Imagine you live in a world where magnets are basically magic. Lodestones pull metal, compasses point north, and nobody has the faintest idea why. That was the 16th century. Then along comes this English doctor, William Gilbert, who basically says, 'Hold my ale.' He spends nearly two decades poking, prodding, and experimenting with magnets, and his book is the wild result. It's not just about fridge magnets; it's the moment someone first dared to suggest our entire planet is one giant magnet. He took on centuries of superstition and Aristotle's wrong ideas with nothing but careful observation and some brilliant homemade experiments. Reading it is like watching the scientific method being born in real time. It’s clunky, it’s weirdly charming, and it completely changed how we see the world. Think of it as the original detective story, where the mystery is the invisible force that guides every compass.

File: On the magnet, magnetick bodies also, and on the great magnet the earth by Gilbert et al.

Forget what you know about science books. This isn't a dry textbook; it's a 400-year-old lab notebook written by a fiercely curious man. William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, had a side hustle: he was obsessed with magnets. In On the Magnet, he systematically tears down ancient myths (no, garlic does NOT ruin a compass's power) and builds a new understanding from the ground up through hundreds of experiments.

The Story

There's no traditional plot, but there is a clear mission: to figure out what magnetism really is. Gilbert starts by debunking folklore, then describes his experiments with spherical magnets he called 'terrellae'—little model Earths. By playing with these, he made the huge leap that Earth itself is a giant magnet with poles, explaining why compasses point north. He distinguished magnetism from static electricity (a big deal back then) and laid out rules for magnetic attraction and repulsion. The 'story' is the thrilling process of watching someone use evidence, not ancient authority, to solve a cosmic puzzle.

Why You Should Read It

You read this for the raw excitement of discovery. Gilbert's voice is wonderfully opinionated and proud of his work. You can feel his frustration with old, wrong ideas and his joy when an experiment clicks. It's humbling to see how much he figured out with such simple tools. More than the facts, the book's real power is its attitude. It champions hands-on investigation over blindly trusting old books. It’s a foundational text for the scientific revolution that would follow, making it a direct ancestor to the work of Galileo and Kepler.

Final Verdict

This is for the curious reader who loves origin stories. It's perfect for history or science buffs who want to feel the 'aha!' moment of a major discovery. It’s also great for anyone who thinks old science books must be boring—Gilbert's passionate, argumentative style will prove you wrong. Be ready for archaic language and some very dated ideas (he thought planets were held by magnetic virtue!), but push through. You're not reading for perfect answers; you're reading to witness the moment we started asking the right questions.

📚 Community Domain

This historical work is free of copyright protections. Access is open to everyone around the world.