Imagine a huge bar magnet passing through Earths axis, as illustrated in Figure 24.10. This is a good representation of Earth as a magnet. Like a bar magnet, Earth has north and south magnetic poles and a magnetic field. Although a compass always points north, it doesnt point to Earths geographic north pole, which is located at 90 north latitude (see Figure 24.11). Instead, it points to Earths magnetic north pole, which is located at about 80 north latitude. Earths magnetic south pole is also located several degrees of latitude away from the geographic south pole. A compass pointer has north and south poles, and its north pole points to Earths magnetic north pole. Why does this happen if opposite poles attract? Why doesnt the compass needle point south instead? The answer may surprise you. Earths magnetic north pole is actually the south pole of magnet Earth! Its called the magnetic north pole to avoid confusion. Because its close to the geographic north pole, it would be confusing to call it the magnetic south pole. Like all magnets, Earth has a magnetic field. Earths magnetic field is called the magnetosphere. It is a huge region that extends outward from Earth for several thousand kilometers but is strongest at the poles. You can see the extent of the magnetosphere in Figure 24.12. For an animated version of the magnetosphere, watch the video at this URL: MEDIA Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Do you like to read science fiction? Science fiction writers are really creative. For example, an author might write about a time in the distant past when compasses pointed south instead of north. Actually, this idea isnt fictionits a fact! Earths magnetic poles have switched places repeatedly over the past hundreds of millions of years, each time reversing Earths magnetic field. This is illustrated in Figure 24.13. Scientists dont know for certain why magnetic reversals occur, but there is hard evidence showing that they have occurred. The evidence comes from rocks on the ocean floor. Look at Figure 24.14, which shows a ridge on the ocean floor. At the center of the ridge, hot magma pushes up through the crust and hardens into rock. Once the magma hardens, the alignment of magnetic domains in the rock is frozen in place forever. The newly hardened rock is then gradually pushed away from the ridge in both directions as more magma erupts and newer rock forms. Rock samples from many places on the ocean floor reveal that magnetic domains of rocks from different time periods are aligned in opposite directions. The evidence shows that Earths magnetic field reversed hundreds of times over the last 330 million years. The last reversal was less than a million years ago. What might happen if a magnetic reversal occurred in your lifetime? How might it affect you? You can learn more about Earths magnetic reversals at this URL: . The idea that Earth is a magnet is far from new. It was first proposed in 1600 by a British physician named William Gilbert. However, explaining why Earth acts like a magnet is a relatively recent discovery. It had to wait until the development of technologies such as seismographs, which detect and measure earthquake waves. Then scientists could learn about Earths inner structure (see Figure 24.15). They discovered that Earth has an inner and outer core and that the outer core consists of liquid metals, mainly iron and nickel. Scientists think that Earths magnetic field is generated by the movement of charged particles through the molten metals in the outer core. The particles move as Earth spins on its axis. The video at the URL below takes a closer look at how this occurs. MEDIA Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Earths magnetic field helps protect Earth and its organisms from harmful particles given off by the sun. Most of the particles are attracted to the north and south magnetic poles, where Earths magnetic field is strongest. This is also where relatively few organisms live. Another benefit of Earths magnetic field is its use for navigation. People use compasses to detect Earths magnetic north pole and tell direction. Many animals have natural "compasses" that work
Output: switching of Earths north and south magnetic poles