magnetic pole
American Heritage Dictionary:
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magnetic pole
n.
- Either of two limited regions in a magnet at which the field of the magnet is most intense, each of which is designated by the approximate geographic direction to which it is attracted.
- Either of two variable points on the earth, close to but not coinciding with the geographic poles, where the magnetic field of the earth is most intense and toward which the needle of a compass points.
magnetic pole, the two nearly opposite ends of the planet where the earth's magnetic intensity is the greatest, as the north and south magnetic poles. For the magnetic north, it is the direction from any point on the earth's surface linking the horizontal component of the magnetic lines of force with the observer and north magnetic pole; it is similar for magnetic south. The north magnetic pole, first located (1831) by British explorer Sir James C. Ross, is now about 78°N and 104°W in the Queen Elizabeth Islands of northern Canada. The south magnetic pole, reached (1909) by Australian geologists Sir T. W. E. David and Sir Douglas Mawson, is now about 66°S and 139°E on the Adélie Coast of Antarctica. The magnetic poles are not fixed but follow circular paths with diameters of about 100 miles (160 km). Studies of paleomagnetism also indicate that the earth's magnetic field has reversed its polarity many times in the geologic past. The best hypothesis to date for the origin of terrestrial magnetism is the self-exciting dynamo theory, where the earth's magnetic field is generated by the interaction of motion and electrical currents in the earth's liquid outer core.
Electronics Dictionary:
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magnetic poles
Points of a magnet from which magnetic lines of force leave (north pole) and arrive (south pole).
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Science:
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magnetic pole
The spot on the Earth toward which a compass needle will point.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Aviation:
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magnetic poles
The locations on a magnet at which lines of flux leave and enter. A freely suspended magnet points toward magnetic poles. One end of the magnet is north-seeking and labeled “N,” while the other end is south-seeking and labeled “S.” All magnets have both poles. Typically, the north and south poles are indicated in red and blue colors, respectively, in illustrations and are referred to as the red and blue poles.
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
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magnetic pole
either of the two regions of a magnet into which the lines of force of the magnetic field converge or from which they diverge. They are designated north (or north-seeking) and south (or south-seeking) according to whether they are attracted to the Earth's north or south pole.
| magnetic moment, magnetic lens, magnetic intensity | |
| magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic shielding, magnetic stirrer |
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Science
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Aviation
An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation.. Copyright © 2005 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
magnetic north
(Science)
auroral oval
(geophysics)
blue magnetism
(geophysics)
magnetomotive force
(electromagnetism)
red magnetism
(geophysics)
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