Magnets For Monday Mysteries...!

With all the knowledge that we have today, there are still some simple questions we don't have the answer to. Makes for an interesting topic, I think.

For instance, when I found this article on Listverse, it made me start thinking. Seems to me that as smart as some of the brainier types are in our world, surely someone can answer (or guess) one or two of these little mysteries.

How Exactly Do Magnets Work?

Magnetism is a widely observed phenomenon in our universe, but a lot of things about it remain unexplained. For example, why do particles charged with electricity create a magnetic field strong enough to physically move things from far away? And when they do, why exactly do they align themselves to two poles, north and south?

Explanations range from “it’s just one of those things” to particle movement at the quantum level, and MIT even has a whole laboratory dedicated to research on nothing but magnetism. We know that it’s happening, and we have a good idea of what exactly is happening, too—the particles align themselves in a way that adds up their charge in one direction, but it’s not very clear as to why the particles emit a magnetic field to start with. The fact that the Earth’s magnetic field is not well understood either further restricts our ability to understand magnetism.

After we get the questions involving magnets solved, we'll start in on the mystery of gravity...OK?

Coffee out on the patio this morning, if the rain has stopped.