The Washington times., 1918-01-25
: The Wonderful Magnet

Everybody knows something of the peculiartes Of the
magnet As boy you led tiny painted ducks around the
water BASIN holding magnet in your hand or you owned
horseshoe magnet that would pick nails and needles
You know now in general kind Of way that the magnet
is very useful as well as somewhat mysterious thing
The old Greeks and Romans simply knew that some re-
markahe iron found in Lydia near the town OF Mag
nesa and hence called magnet capable OF drawing ana
The ancients had the widest theories concerning the
magnet just have wild theories about things that are
new and strange to US today.
They thought that the magnet could be used in Of
sickness that it could attract wood and flesh that 1t lnnu
enced the human BRAIN causing melancholy They believed
that the power magnet could be destroyed by rubbing
garlic and that power brought back again by dipping
could be used detect bad conduct in woman they be-
ieved that it would not attract iron In the presence OF
diamond They believed much other nonsense quite as rdicu
lous as the nonsense that we believe today
It must have seemed great waste Of time in wise men
in the old days to discuss the magnet or think ABOUT II at
Please observe how the apparent nonsense Of early specu
aon finally rpens into actual utility and learn to respect
those who deal best they with questions that seem be-
yond our comprehension.
First the magnet was made actually and wonderfully
useful the compass Who discovered the compass nobody
knows 1t was probably invented by the Chinese and
brought to Europe through the Arabs Anyhow some genius
found out that small needle brought in contact with the So
called lodestone magnetic absorbs the qualities OF
the odestone and when placed pivot will always point
to the north.
In the magnet there and there still many mys
tees form of perpetual motion seems to be embodied
the weight of the metal is exactly the before it is
netized and after it is magnetiZed.
Early students thought that the magnet pointed toward
particular spot in the sky perhaps some magnetic star
One genius felt that there must be huge mountains Of
odestone the North Pole This suggestion followed
by ingenious yarns to the effect that in the extreme North
ships had to be built with wooden nails instead Of iron nails
the magnetic mountains would draw the iron nails out Of
the ship.
After this the rational conception that
earth great magnet and that the little magnet In the
compass simply obeys in pointing the greater force of the
earth magnet.
This editorial generaizng the magnet is brought
about by incident elegraphed from Vallejo California
John Geegg apprentice in the Navy Yard had imbedded
in his cheek flying piece of steel To get it out would a
parently have demanded painful and difficult surgical
operation the piece of steel had entered the bone But
the head electrician Peo simply placed near the wounded
boys face capable of lifting five hundred
pounds and the sharp piece of steel instantly few out of the
cheek and attached itself to the magnet
So much for proof of the value of developing what
may seem at first to be foolish set of experiments
In thousands of ways today this magnetic power is
utilized.
In the great steel works where armor plate is made
powerful magnets used to carry the hot plates from
place another The magnet lifts the hot soft metal
without denting damaging it and drops down where
it is wanted The power which trolley through
the streets is nothing in reality but application of the
force of the magnetic principle.
That the earth itself great magnet cannot be ques
toned And there doubt that each of human beings
compound magnet his account depending for his
welfare magnetic force.
The millions of red corpusces in the blood each with its
innitesma particles of ron absorb in the lungs and dis
tribute throughout the body the electric forces which
depend, and with which we do our work
When you read of men and women dealing in blunder
ing kind of way with abstract abstruse specuations and
problems do not laugh at them too heartily They
more ridiculous than the old Greeks who thought that
magnet could be regulated by garlic goats blood And
their wild theories of today may settle down into great