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The Spinning Magnet: The Electromagnetic Force That Created the Modern World--and Could Destroy It
An engrossing history of the science of one of the four fundamental physical forces in the universe, electromagnetism, right up to the latest indications that the poles are soon to reverse and destroy the world's power grids and electronic communications
A cataclysmic planetary phenomenon is gathering force deep within the Earth. The magnetic North Pole will eventually trade places with the South Pole. Satellite evidence suggests to some scientists that the move has already begun, but most still think it won't happen for many decades. All agree that it has happened many times before and will happen again. But this time it will be different. It will be a very bad day for modern civilization.
Award-winning science journalist Alanna Mitchell tells in The Spinning Magnet the fascinating history of one of the four fundamental physical forces in the universe, electromagnetism. From investigations into magnetism in thirteenth-century feudal France and the realization six hundred years later in the Victorian era that electricity and magnetism were essentially the same, to the discovery that Earth was itself a magnet, spinning in space with two poles and that those poles aperiodically reverse, this is a utterly engrossing narrative history of ideas and science that readers of Stephen Greenblatt and Sam Kean will love.
The recent finding that Earth's magnetic force field is decaying ten times faster than previously thought, portending an imminent pole reversal, ultimately gives this story a spine-tingling urgency. When the poles switch, a process that takes many years, Earth is unprotected from solar radiation storms that would, among other things, wipe out all electromagnetic technology. No satellites, no Internet, no smartphones--maybe no power grid at all. Such potentially cataclysmic solar storms are not unusual. The last one occurred in 2012, and we avoided returning to the Dark Ages only because the part of the sun that erupted happened to be facing away from Earth. One leading US researcher is already drawing maps of the parts of the planet that would likely become uninhabitable.
A cataclysmic planetary phenomenon is gathering force deep within the Earth. The magnetic North Pole will eventually trade places with the South Pole. Satellite evidence suggests to some scientists that the move has already begun, but most still think it won't happen for many decades. All agree that it has happened many times before and will happen again. But this time it will be different. It will be a very bad day for modern civilization.
Award-winning science journalist Alanna Mitchell tells in The Spinning Magnet the fascinating history of one of the four fundamental physical forces in the universe, electromagnetism. From investigations into magnetism in thirteenth-century feudal France and the realization six hundred years later in the Victorian era that electricity and magnetism were essentially the same, to the discovery that Earth was itself a magnet, spinning in space with two poles and that those poles aperiodically reverse, this is a utterly engrossing narrative history of ideas and science that readers of Stephen Greenblatt and Sam Kean will love.
The recent finding that Earth's magnetic force field is decaying ten times faster than previously thought, portending an imminent pole reversal, ultimately gives this story a spine-tingling urgency. When the poles switch, a process that takes many years, Earth is unprotected from solar radiation storms that would, among other things, wipe out all electromagnetic technology. No satellites, no Internet, no smartphones--maybe no power grid at all. Such potentially cataclysmic solar storms are not unusual. The last one occurred in 2012, and we avoided returning to the Dark Ages only because the part of the sun that erupted happened to be facing away from Earth. One leading US researcher is already drawing maps of the parts of the planet that would likely become uninhabitable.
10 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 2018
60 people are currently reading
760 people want to read
About the author
Alanna Mitchell
10 books15 followersAlanna Mitchell is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about science and social trends. She is a global thinker who specializes in investigative reporting. Her most recent full-length book, Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis, is an international bestseller that won the prestigious Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment. Her one-woman play based on that book was nominated for a Dora Award and she toured across Canada. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
January 5, 2018
Maybe this one was just up my alley in all the right ways or maybe the author is pretty spot-on with her mix of science history, humanization of the players, and just the right dose of scientific explanation for laymen.
Maybe it was both.
Regardless, I seriously enjoyed this non-fiction all about magnetism. It shouldn't come as all that much surprise that it has serious biological roots and it's all about physics and chemistry, but the author balances everything in such a way that it's always interesting. I didn't realize that magnetism was under controversy back in the days of Galileo. The way that it all ties seamlessly into geology should also be obvious, but I never felt uncomfortable in the writing. Indeed, I was pretty much uniformly fascinated.
The big zinger about the poles reversing and the effects on modern society aren't sensationalized, either. There's a big "I Don't Know" in there, but so much of the evidence points to a protracted (say a few thousand years) time of less magnetic shielding as the poles do their thing. The fact they will flip is not in doubt. The fact that we might be undergoing a radical influx of harmful radiation because the Earth isn't going to be blocking solar storms is probably the scariest thing I can imagine.
That's even worse than losing all our electronics. I mean, that's bad enough and I'll have to go buy a bedpan and a shotgun to defend myself in my new dystopian nightmare, but we're talking about a mass-extinction event. Well, assuming we or the animals don't start breeding for rad-tolerant biologies or take rad-x.
Can you imagine a bunch of teens running around with early onset dementia?
Oh, wait, yeah. I've read quite a few YA novels.
Really fascinating non-fiction, here! It's right up there with some of the very best non-technical popular science books I've read! (That's saying a bit. I like good science books. :)
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
Maybe it was both.
Regardless, I seriously enjoyed this non-fiction all about magnetism. It shouldn't come as all that much surprise that it has serious biological roots and it's all about physics and chemistry, but the author balances everything in such a way that it's always interesting. I didn't realize that magnetism was under controversy back in the days of Galileo. The way that it all ties seamlessly into geology should also be obvious, but I never felt uncomfortable in the writing. Indeed, I was pretty much uniformly fascinated.
The big zinger about the poles reversing and the effects on modern society aren't sensationalized, either. There's a big "I Don't Know" in there, but so much of the evidence points to a protracted (say a few thousand years) time of less magnetic shielding as the poles do their thing. The fact they will flip is not in doubt. The fact that we might be undergoing a radical influx of harmful radiation because the Earth isn't going to be blocking solar storms is probably the scariest thing I can imagine.
That's even worse than losing all our electronics. I mean, that's bad enough and I'll have to go buy a bedpan and a shotgun to defend myself in my new dystopian nightmare, but we're talking about a mass-extinction event. Well, assuming we or the animals don't start breeding for rad-tolerant biologies or take rad-x.
Can you imagine a bunch of teens running around with early onset dementia?
Oh, wait, yeah. I've read quite a few YA novels.
Really fascinating non-fiction, here! It's right up there with some of the very best non-technical popular science books I've read! (That's saying a bit. I like good science books. :)
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
January 29, 2018
One of my most favourite episodes of the new Cosmos (because, honestly, they are all so good) is Episode 10: “The Electric Boy”, which focuses on the life and discoveries of Michael Faraday. In particular, the episode emphasizes how the invention of the dynamo and the electric motor spurred on a whole new technological revolution. The electric motor is just ubiquitous now, even more so than smarter digital electronics, and we take it for granted as such a basic piece of technological craft. Yet it is in fact a marvel of science and technology. With its somewhat sensationalist title, The Spinning Magnet: The Force That Created the Modern World—and Could Destroy It captures some of that same sense of wonder. In addition to Faraday, science journalist Alanna Mitchell takes us on a tour through history, introducing us to the people who marvelled at, experimented on, and made discoveries about electromagnetism. Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for the e-ARC.
As the title implies, the book focuses heavily on magnetism as it relates to our physical planet. There was quite a bit more geology and geophysics in here than one might initially expect (not that that’s a bad thing). Mitchell always links each point back to the central topic: our Earth is one, giant magnet, and the strength of the magnetic field plays an important role in protecting us from solar and cosmic radiation. Historically, understanding the way the magnetic field works—how it is laid out, and how it is changing—has been important for navigation and theoretical science. Now, though, as our technology base and even things like our power grids become increasingly dependent upon electronics, understanding the Earth’s magnetic field is increasingly a matter of survival.
Reading this gave me a serious hankering to read more of Dava Sobel, and it isn’t just because Mitchell briefly relates John Harrison’s development of the marine chronometer. Like Sobel, Mitchell has the talent for breaking down complicated scientific concepts and putting them into a socio-historical context. I do so love when scientists can cross the line into writing popular science books, but even when they do, their closeness to the topic colours the way they explain it. Science communicators have such an important niche in our society: they understand the science enough to represent it truthfully, but because they haven’t devoted a lifetime to researching it actively, they have enough distance to interpret rather than explain. Mitchell comfortably covers topics like vectors, electron valences, and wave-particle duality, in a way that isn’t going to make your head spin like the very electrons she’s talking about.
One important feature of The Spinning Magnet: it doggedly rejects the Great Man approach to telling stories about scientific discovery. Oh, it spotlights certain individuals in order to point out their contributions. Bernard Brunhes figures prominently, given that he is the originator of the idea of geomagnetic reversals. Some of the more usual suspects—Galvani, Volta, Franklin, Faraday—show up as well. Yet at every step of the way, Mitchell reminds us that science is ultimately, and has always been, a collaborative effort. This was true in the past, when each person stood on the shoulders of the giants who came before. It is true now, when scientists meet regularly in conferences to discuss all the things they have discovered that make their pet theories untrue. Although I feel like I could have done without a lot of the modern-day descriptions of where and how Mitchell met with the various people she interviewed that begin most of the chapters, I will give her credit for showing us how most contemporary scientists operate within this very interconnected community.
It was also delightful to spend some more time thinking about geology and geophysics. Much like Simon Winchester’s The Map That Changed the World , The Spinning Magnet is a potent reminder of how much we can learn about the history of our planet and our universe just by examining the rocks beneath our feet. There are so many stories these stones can tell us; I am constantly surprised and stunned by how much scientists can uncover by devising new and intricate ways to interrogate and interview these otherwise silent artifacts. I’ve always stereotypically seen myself as a “space” person; I like outer space and the impersonality of physics involving inhospitable regions of the cosmos. So it’s nice to have a reminder that our own planet has secrets of the universe to unlock as well, and that we have a lot to learn from it.
In the final chapters of the book, Mitchell turns to that sensationalist question implicit in the title: could a geomagnetic reversal be in the cards for our lifetimes, and if so, does that mean The End? Fortunately, she doesn’t buy into the hype. She pursues the question with the proper amount of skepticism. She points out the real dangers, such as the damage done by more intense solar storms back in the 1990s and early 2000s. She mentions the need for us to be prepared, to consider how better to shield our technology, to take this seriously—which, indeed, it seems like many countries are. Yet she is careful not to hype up the alarmist angle.
Even though this book, really, just confirms my long-stated belief that the Sun has it out for us all!
Goodreads tells me the hardcover version of this book clocks in at 300 pages. It’s always hard to tell in ebook form (this is the first book I read, by the way, on my brand new Kindle Paperwhite, huzzah for eInk!), but The Spinning Magnet felt very long to me. Maybe it’s simply because it has so many—thirty!—chapters, even if the chapters themselves aren’t as long. Mitchell certainly tries to be comprehensive. Yet I almost found myself wishing for … I don’t know … something more, some kind of story or theme to tie together everything that she shows us, beyond her quest to learn more about the obscure Brunhes or, of course, this spectre of geomagnetic reversal.
This is a satisfying read and one I’d happily recommend to anyone interested in the topic. It’s edifying without being confusing or patronizing, and there is so much to learn in here. Sometimes it goes off on a tangent or I got a little bored (and that isn’t necessarily Mitchell’s fault). Overall, though, The Spinning Magnet is a great example of what I like to see in my popular stories of science, history, and how they come together.
As the title implies, the book focuses heavily on magnetism as it relates to our physical planet. There was quite a bit more geology and geophysics in here than one might initially expect (not that that’s a bad thing). Mitchell always links each point back to the central topic: our Earth is one, giant magnet, and the strength of the magnetic field plays an important role in protecting us from solar and cosmic radiation. Historically, understanding the way the magnetic field works—how it is laid out, and how it is changing—has been important for navigation and theoretical science. Now, though, as our technology base and even things like our power grids become increasingly dependent upon electronics, understanding the Earth’s magnetic field is increasingly a matter of survival.
Reading this gave me a serious hankering to read more of Dava Sobel, and it isn’t just because Mitchell briefly relates John Harrison’s development of the marine chronometer. Like Sobel, Mitchell has the talent for breaking down complicated scientific concepts and putting them into a socio-historical context. I do so love when scientists can cross the line into writing popular science books, but even when they do, their closeness to the topic colours the way they explain it. Science communicators have such an important niche in our society: they understand the science enough to represent it truthfully, but because they haven’t devoted a lifetime to researching it actively, they have enough distance to interpret rather than explain. Mitchell comfortably covers topics like vectors, electron valences, and wave-particle duality, in a way that isn’t going to make your head spin like the very electrons she’s talking about.
One important feature of The Spinning Magnet: it doggedly rejects the Great Man approach to telling stories about scientific discovery. Oh, it spotlights certain individuals in order to point out their contributions. Bernard Brunhes figures prominently, given that he is the originator of the idea of geomagnetic reversals. Some of the more usual suspects—Galvani, Volta, Franklin, Faraday—show up as well. Yet at every step of the way, Mitchell reminds us that science is ultimately, and has always been, a collaborative effort. This was true in the past, when each person stood on the shoulders of the giants who came before. It is true now, when scientists meet regularly in conferences to discuss all the things they have discovered that make their pet theories untrue. Although I feel like I could have done without a lot of the modern-day descriptions of where and how Mitchell met with the various people she interviewed that begin most of the chapters, I will give her credit for showing us how most contemporary scientists operate within this very interconnected community.
It was also delightful to spend some more time thinking about geology and geophysics. Much like Simon Winchester’s The Map That Changed the World , The Spinning Magnet is a potent reminder of how much we can learn about the history of our planet and our universe just by examining the rocks beneath our feet. There are so many stories these stones can tell us; I am constantly surprised and stunned by how much scientists can uncover by devising new and intricate ways to interrogate and interview these otherwise silent artifacts. I’ve always stereotypically seen myself as a “space” person; I like outer space and the impersonality of physics involving inhospitable regions of the cosmos. So it’s nice to have a reminder that our own planet has secrets of the universe to unlock as well, and that we have a lot to learn from it.
In the final chapters of the book, Mitchell turns to that sensationalist question implicit in the title: could a geomagnetic reversal be in the cards for our lifetimes, and if so, does that mean The End? Fortunately, she doesn’t buy into the hype. She pursues the question with the proper amount of skepticism. She points out the real dangers, such as the damage done by more intense solar storms back in the 1990s and early 2000s. She mentions the need for us to be prepared, to consider how better to shield our technology, to take this seriously—which, indeed, it seems like many countries are. Yet she is careful not to hype up the alarmist angle.
Even though this book, really, just confirms my long-stated belief that the Sun has it out for us all!
Goodreads tells me the hardcover version of this book clocks in at 300 pages. It’s always hard to tell in ebook form (this is the first book I read, by the way, on my brand new Kindle Paperwhite, huzzah for eInk!), but The Spinning Magnet felt very long to me. Maybe it’s simply because it has so many—thirty!—chapters, even if the chapters themselves aren’t as long. Mitchell certainly tries to be comprehensive. Yet I almost found myself wishing for … I don’t know … something more, some kind of story or theme to tie together everything that she shows us, beyond her quest to learn more about the obscure Brunhes or, of course, this spectre of geomagnetic reversal.
This is a satisfying read and one I’d happily recommend to anyone interested in the topic. It’s edifying without being confusing or patronizing, and there is so much to learn in here. Sometimes it goes off on a tangent or I got a little bored (and that isn’t necessarily Mitchell’s fault). Overall, though, The Spinning Magnet is a great example of what I like to see in my popular stories of science, history, and how they come together.
December 21, 2017
I did this to my stubbornly nonscientific brain on purpose. Learn, brain, learn. Then again it's entirely possible I overestimated my interest in magnetism. Either way, this was a somewhat challenging read. And I admit to not reading nonfiction as much as I'd like, so I try for at least one a month. Lately, the selections seem to be positively apocalyptic, there are so many things out there that can destroy the world as we know it. Now there are deadly solar flares and magnetic reversals to add to that list. Although with modern politics being what they are who knows if anyone would ever live long enough to find out. Anyway...this book was pretty thorough, the author really did her research, so you can't help but learn things...from basic chemistry to something more complex, like the difference between ferromagnetism and ferrimagnetism, which is complicated and probably fairly irrelevant to life outside of specific fields of study. I seem to enjoy the historical aspects here more so than the actual scientific ones, so maybe I'm not exactly the target audience, but I can't help noticing how (relatively) recently some of these discoveries have been made and yet now there's nothing but certainty as to the general outline of the world's makeup. Who's to say another Einstein won't come along and change our understanding of it all? This, to me, is an exceptionally frustrating part of learning, especially science, this is why I no longer read/study so much about astronomy, too many unknowns still and too much certainty about the few things we do know. Almost like a strange arrogance born out of ignorance. Wow, this review I just one digression after another. Sorry. Back to the book...where chapter after chapter the author traverses continents (physically) and ages (metaphorically) to explain how the modern understanding of one of the four fundamental forces of the universe came to be. Compounding discoveries century after century to get to where we are now, which is to say expecting another reversal, which will most likely affect magnetic field protecting the Earth, which will most likely have disastrous effects on all/most life, which is thus far without timeline of affective solutions. After all as my favorite quote of the book states...Science is provisional. It's amazing to see how far the general understanding of this has come from Aristotle's primitive (to modern eyes) view, but who knows what the future holds, certainly bleak things it seems. The narrative was almost layman accessible with some minor exceptions. The edition I read was an ARC through Netgalley and it lacked any photos/art and also proper formatting. In fact, it was formatted in such a manner that made it difficult to read and enjoy. No idea why publishers think that's a good way to offer books, it was literally covered in random numbers interspersed throughout the text, weird level of almost but not quite right like an underbaked cookie. But this shouldn't be a thing with the proper book, when it is published. So, there you go brain, you can continue proudly consider yourself an autodidact, this was work.
Want to read
June 20, 2018Science (AAAS) review: http://blogs.sciencemag.org/books/201...
"This field protects the environment from the harsh conditions of space, yet its strength has been declining since Carl Friedrich Gauss first devised a method to measure the absolute intensity in the 1830s.
Fluctuations in the rate of decline are small compared with the average trend, suggesting that the dipole might vanish in less than 2000 years. ..."
"This field protects the environment from the harsh conditions of space, yet its strength has been declining since Carl Friedrich Gauss first devised a method to measure the absolute intensity in the 1830s.
Fluctuations in the rate of decline are small compared with the average trend, suggesting that the dipole might vanish in less than 2000 years. ..."
August 25, 2019
I was fairly disappointed in this one - both because of the "pop science" content and because I am pretty allergic to scare tactics and doom and gloom scenarios, and this was full of them. Mitchell makes one of the common pop science mistakes of going into way too much detail by explaining a bunch of stuff about electrons and chemistry that is not relevant to the point of magnetism while also just briefly glazing over stuff that is totally relevant. I understood what she meant because of my educational background, but I remember thinking, "Why am I getting a chemistry lesson right now?"
I did like some of the information about the history of our understanding of geomagnetism, that is not something I had heard before, and I'd be interested in reading more about it. It's amazing to think about how little we understood the geological processes going on in our planet up until very recently. Given how they teach kids in school about plate tectonics in a great amount of detail - subduction zones, how mountain ranges and volcanoes are formed, all kinds of independent lines of evidence - it's kind of amazing that plate tectonics was controversial until the 1950s.
With regards to the doom-and-gloom scenarios, I think that while they are very concerning, I have often found both the fear surrounding coronal mass ejections and around the weakening/reversal of the magnetic fields to be something that tends to be presented uncritically. They definitely seem concerning, but I find it hard to take seriously the analyses about how bad things could get given that they seem to assume that our society is like a fragile house of cards rather than a complex and dynamic mostly self-stabilizing system.
2 of 5 stars
I did like some of the information about the history of our understanding of geomagnetism, that is not something I had heard before, and I'd be interested in reading more about it. It's amazing to think about how little we understood the geological processes going on in our planet up until very recently. Given how they teach kids in school about plate tectonics in a great amount of detail - subduction zones, how mountain ranges and volcanoes are formed, all kinds of independent lines of evidence - it's kind of amazing that plate tectonics was controversial until the 1950s.
With regards to the doom-and-gloom scenarios, I think that while they are very concerning, I have often found both the fear surrounding coronal mass ejections and around the weakening/reversal of the magnetic fields to be something that tends to be presented uncritically. They definitely seem concerning, but I find it hard to take seriously the analyses about how bad things could get given that they seem to assume that our society is like a fragile house of cards rather than a complex and dynamic mostly self-stabilizing system.
2 of 5 stars
August 21, 2019
Nicely Narrated Discussion of an Unheralded but Consequential Phenomna.
Alanna Mitchell really did a great job with this. As a science guy, I honestly knew little about magnets or electricity and she educated me big time. More important is the reality of earth as a spinning magnet as such that its currents (i.e. Van Allen Belts) are the difference between all the life on our planet and the desertion of places like Mars and the moon.
There are some frightening but necessary speculations on what will happen when the poles inevitably reverse and/or the sun emits a major solar flare. I will be thinking about these for the rest of my life even if we are fortunate enough to never have to deal with them.
Lots of history lessons, lots of chemistry (my first love), and quite a bit of astronomy (my second science love). There were small parts I skimmed through but most of it I read every word, especially the second half of the book.
Science buffs like myself will love this book.
Alanna Mitchell really did a great job with this. As a science guy, I honestly knew little about magnets or electricity and she educated me big time. More important is the reality of earth as a spinning magnet as such that its currents (i.e. Van Allen Belts) are the difference between all the life on our planet and the desertion of places like Mars and the moon.
There are some frightening but necessary speculations on what will happen when the poles inevitably reverse and/or the sun emits a major solar flare. I will be thinking about these for the rest of my life even if we are fortunate enough to never have to deal with them.
Lots of history lessons, lots of chemistry (my first love), and quite a bit of astronomy (my second science love). There were small parts I skimmed through but most of it I read every word, especially the second half of the book.
Science buffs like myself will love this book.
June 14, 2018
Fascinating - I was worried this book would be a little too science-y for me but it was very accessible. It was mostly about the history of our understanding of the Earth's core and it's relationship with magnets, etc then about future science. So while, a little scary to think about the future, mostly really interesting history of the science.
May 26, 2020
Wow, I vastly over-estimated my interest in this topic. Or perhaps this just wasn't that great of a book. Perhaps it was a little of both. Overall this didn't interest me much at all. A little too much science, a little too much speculation and a little too much repetition of the same things.
April 22, 2018
I really enjoyed this accessibly written history of how we have come to understand the Earth's magnetic field. I learned so many new things about the earth and magnets. Geophysics is cool!
I think it is really hard to transport myself into the mindset of others prior to some big scientific discovery. The author does a good job at this. For example, when she described how Henry Gellibrand proved that the north pole wobbled about, I found myself staring at the floor of my house in awe. What wondrous things are going on down there? I has several other moments like these.
I think it is really hard to transport myself into the mindset of others prior to some big scientific discovery. The author does a good job at this. For example, when she described how Henry Gellibrand proved that the north pole wobbled about, I found myself staring at the floor of my house in awe. What wondrous things are going on down there? I has several other moments like these.
March 30, 2023
In 7th grade I found myself in an "Earth Science" class. It was boring and excruciating and I almost flunked. Why mention this now? Because this book was a fascinating presentation of information that would have piqued my interest back in school.
As I said before, I was expecting to read about the magic of generators and motors. This was covered, but so was everything from the history of electric research, the movement of continents and even radiation in space. A huge scope.
But all was very, very interesting, well explained and thought provoking. I've got a long list of other things I want to learn about, and have many incredible things to think about when I'm trying to sleep.
A good solid FIVE stars!
As I said before, I was expecting to read about the magic of generators and motors. This was covered, but so was everything from the history of electric research, the movement of continents and even radiation in space. A huge scope.
But all was very, very interesting, well explained and thought provoking. I've got a long list of other things I want to learn about, and have many incredible things to think about when I'm trying to sleep.
A good solid FIVE stars!
January 21, 2018
The Ultimate Lose-Lose Proposition
With all the talk of climate change, the sixth extinction, the collision of galaxies and the death of the sun, Alanna Mitchell adds another – the fading of our magnetic field. We are protected from the sun’s ferocity by a magnetic field that comes from the core of the planet. The sun can blow it back, but it can’t blow it away. Worryingly, all is not well with that shield.
The Spinning Magnet is almost entirely history. Mitchell looks at the long list of milestones as we discovered and tried to understand electricity and magnetism. There are as many wrong turns as right ones, but today we have a good idea of what came before (though no feel for what comes next). The most important discovery was that electricity and magnetism are both manifestations of the same force. We ignore one for the other at our peril. By 1838 we knew the magnetic field came from the center of the Earth. We’ve spend the following 200 years taking measurements everywhere, all the time, to figure out the patterns, the intensity, the movements and the implications. But that’s also how we know it is fading.
The magnetic north and south poles used to reverse fairly regularly, and they leave traces when they do. There hasn’t been one since we came along, so we don’t know what to expect. But reversing the poles and the field will almost certainly wreak havoc like we’ve never seen. For one thing, we now run on electricity. When extraordinary solar flares penetrated the field in the mid 1800s, batteries powering the telegraph network all over the western world caught fire, seemingly spontaneously. Disconnecting them did not shut the system down, however. It ran on “celestial power”. Today, everything is electric. But in addition, everything runs on magnetic media. All the software, hard drives and memory banks in the world might be wiped if the magnetic field behaves badly. It could be like Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, but with no possibility of aid, as nothing would work anywhere. And that doesn’t count what it might do living beings. Birds for example, can actually see the magnetic field, and use it to navigate thousands of miles twice a year. Many insects use it too. We have no idea how they will handle a reversal. If the field doesn’t reverse but fades away, the sun will be free to fry the Earth into another Mercury, and continually bombard it with killer radiation (which is why “escaping” to Mars is no solution. Its magnetic field is long gone). It gives one pause.
Mitchell’s style is fast and spare. Her book is very easy to read. The sentences are short, direct and declarative. The chapters are short and concise. They are discrete entities, each having its own tight purpose. She avoids the worst complexities. It is page 96 before Mitchell uses the word quantum. And it only appears once more later. That’s pretty remarkable for a book on atomic structures and processes.
The irony is that our discovery of electricity, magnetism and how to employ them has allowed us to understand that life as we know it could end with the change or demise of the magnetic field and all the wonderful ways we have deployed electricity and magnetism.
David Wineberg
With all the talk of climate change, the sixth extinction, the collision of galaxies and the death of the sun, Alanna Mitchell adds another – the fading of our magnetic field. We are protected from the sun’s ferocity by a magnetic field that comes from the core of the planet. The sun can blow it back, but it can’t blow it away. Worryingly, all is not well with that shield.
The Spinning Magnet is almost entirely history. Mitchell looks at the long list of milestones as we discovered and tried to understand electricity and magnetism. There are as many wrong turns as right ones, but today we have a good idea of what came before (though no feel for what comes next). The most important discovery was that electricity and magnetism are both manifestations of the same force. We ignore one for the other at our peril. By 1838 we knew the magnetic field came from the center of the Earth. We’ve spend the following 200 years taking measurements everywhere, all the time, to figure out the patterns, the intensity, the movements and the implications. But that’s also how we know it is fading.
The magnetic north and south poles used to reverse fairly regularly, and they leave traces when they do. There hasn’t been one since we came along, so we don’t know what to expect. But reversing the poles and the field will almost certainly wreak havoc like we’ve never seen. For one thing, we now run on electricity. When extraordinary solar flares penetrated the field in the mid 1800s, batteries powering the telegraph network all over the western world caught fire, seemingly spontaneously. Disconnecting them did not shut the system down, however. It ran on “celestial power”. Today, everything is electric. But in addition, everything runs on magnetic media. All the software, hard drives and memory banks in the world might be wiped if the magnetic field behaves badly. It could be like Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, but with no possibility of aid, as nothing would work anywhere. And that doesn’t count what it might do living beings. Birds for example, can actually see the magnetic field, and use it to navigate thousands of miles twice a year. Many insects use it too. We have no idea how they will handle a reversal. If the field doesn’t reverse but fades away, the sun will be free to fry the Earth into another Mercury, and continually bombard it with killer radiation (which is why “escaping” to Mars is no solution. Its magnetic field is long gone). It gives one pause.
Mitchell’s style is fast and spare. Her book is very easy to read. The sentences are short, direct and declarative. The chapters are short and concise. They are discrete entities, each having its own tight purpose. She avoids the worst complexities. It is page 96 before Mitchell uses the word quantum. And it only appears once more later. That’s pretty remarkable for a book on atomic structures and processes.
The irony is that our discovery of electricity, magnetism and how to employ them has allowed us to understand that life as we know it could end with the change or demise of the magnetic field and all the wonderful ways we have deployed electricity and magnetism.
David Wineberg
December 15, 2018
Just when you thought there was something trustworthy left in this old world, it turns out the compass points have gone awry. That's right: the Earth's inner anatomy has gone fundamentally askew as storms gyre in the molten core, threatening the powerful magnetic field that protects life on the surface. In this new science book, Canadian author Alanna Mitchell takes the reader on an engaging pilgrimage around the world to visit with scientific leaders and sites of historical interest, leading us step by step into this emerging area of study. The north-south polarity of our planet has reversed several times over ancient millennia, leaving a historical record on the Atlantic seabed that looks like zebra skin on the magnetic map. According to Mitchell's detailed research, the north magnetic pole has been “galloping” across the Arctic in recent years, a strange magnetic anomaly has been growing in the southern hemisphere, and the protective magnetic shield over the Earth has decreased by 10% in the past 200 years—but no cause for alarm just yet, because no one actually knows what's going on! The stakes are high in the race to figure this out, because our “spinning magnet” is the only thing holding our atmosphere together under a cruel sky. The hostile universe around us is chock-full of lethal ionizing radiation, and our own sun regularly spits out dangerous plasma and harmful particles from solar storms. With our modern reliance on electricity to maintain our digital society, we are sitting ducks for electromagnetic devastation.
October 3, 2019
Intriguing, and covers a topic that I wish I knew more about (the earth's magnetic field), but too many strikes. Did not finish.
1. Book starts with her in Arctic Canada to see the Northern Lights. Cool, and I'm jealous, but that's not why I'm reading the book.
2. The book gives a large amount of space to Bernard Brunhes, the man who first discovered geomagnetic reversal. Much of the start of the book involves the author talking and traveling around with a French scientist who believes that Brunhes has not been given his due, and is pushing for more monuments and the like. We hear more about this scientist, and the fact that his thick, off-white cable-knit sweater has the same hue as his rakish hair, than about Brunhes.
3. We finally get to Brunhes on page 29, and find out that his father was the son of a master shoemaker ... I can't take it any more. Tell me about Brunhes, not his father, and certainly not his grandfather.
4. She mentions the earth's mantle, saying "... the mantle's job is to get rid of some of its heat, which is the point of volcanoes and earthquakes." Arrrrgh. No. The mantle doesn't have a job. It just is. That is just a terribly non-scientific attitude to take in a science book.
I might make it back and try to read more, but I couldn't take any more at the time.
1. Book starts with her in Arctic Canada to see the Northern Lights. Cool, and I'm jealous, but that's not why I'm reading the book.
2. The book gives a large amount of space to Bernard Brunhes, the man who first discovered geomagnetic reversal. Much of the start of the book involves the author talking and traveling around with a French scientist who believes that Brunhes has not been given his due, and is pushing for more monuments and the like. We hear more about this scientist, and the fact that his thick, off-white cable-knit sweater has the same hue as his rakish hair, than about Brunhes.
3. We finally get to Brunhes on page 29, and find out that his father was the son of a master shoemaker ... I can't take it any more. Tell me about Brunhes, not his father, and certainly not his grandfather.
4. She mentions the earth's mantle, saying "... the mantle's job is to get rid of some of its heat, which is the point of volcanoes and earthquakes." Arrrrgh. No. The mantle doesn't have a job. It just is. That is just a terribly non-scientific attitude to take in a science book.
I might make it back and try to read more, but I couldn't take any more at the time.
November 10, 2019
As a graduate student in physics who actually studies magnetism a lot, I would admit that I have learnt a lot about from this book the history about magnetism in general and in the perspective of geophysics.
Throughout the reading, I’m especially fascinated by the earth’s magnetic memory in lava rocks, and how much they can tell us about the past of our planet. I’m also amazed by the complexity of the earth’s magnetic field structure, and how lucky we are to have the protection provided by the giant web of earth magnetic fields.
Throughout the reading, I’m especially fascinated by the earth’s magnetic memory in lava rocks, and how much they can tell us about the past of our planet. I’m also amazed by the complexity of the earth’s magnetic field structure, and how lucky we are to have the protection provided by the giant web of earth magnetic fields.
July 9, 2018
In case you needed something else to worry about, as if climate change, nuclear war, and the like weren’t enough to keep you busy, this book is a very well written and interesting history of magnetism. I particularly enjoyed the sections highlighting magnetism’s relationship to biology.
August 2, 2020
Not well written, a serious read but better structure would have made it easier to follow and comprehend. Still worth looking into.
July 10, 2018
I came across this book at my library. It looked interesting. Spinning magnets and all. It is a very high level history and explanation of the magnetic field that surrounds the Earth. Plus a bit of what is currently happening both below our feet and above our heads.
The history was interesting. A lot of supposedly smart people dragging their feet on exploring this neat science. I have seen it a lot in science, where the old guard of recently disproved notions cling on to their beliefs no matter what the evidence. That isn't science, but human nature. The same type of scientists who scoffed at a solid & liquid cores are the same that thought the continents don't move. Plate techtonics is only in the last 40-50 years. Much our understanding of magnetic fields is a bit more than 100 years old.
If you really want to freak yourself out, read the sections about what will happen when the poles reverse. Or simply weaken. Then add in a bad solar storm. Think Victorian or steampunk.
But the reversing poles are part of the history of the world. I wanted more stories or information about this type of event. Plus more insight into what we know about the moving poles. Do we know why they move, how deep is the chunk of material is, etc? This is a very lightweight book, targeted at those curious about the science, but may not have any science or engineering background.
The history was interesting. A lot of supposedly smart people dragging their feet on exploring this neat science. I have seen it a lot in science, where the old guard of recently disproved notions cling on to their beliefs no matter what the evidence. That isn't science, but human nature. The same type of scientists who scoffed at a solid & liquid cores are the same that thought the continents don't move. Plate techtonics is only in the last 40-50 years. Much our understanding of magnetic fields is a bit more than 100 years old.
If you really want to freak yourself out, read the sections about what will happen when the poles reverse. Or simply weaken. Then add in a bad solar storm. Think Victorian or steampunk.
But the reversing poles are part of the history of the world. I wanted more stories or information about this type of event. Plus more insight into what we know about the moving poles. Do we know why they move, how deep is the chunk of material is, etc? This is a very lightweight book, targeted at those curious about the science, but may not have any science or engineering background.
March 9, 2020
I am a bit conflicted when it comes to reviewing a book by someone who does not have expertise in the field. A lot of popular science writers make a living out of producing books on subjects where they are non-experts. (Well at least initially). I guess, they can approach the subject without any pre-conceptions or commitments to particular schools of thought and that is an advantage where there are often multiple competing theories. Assuming that they are intelligent information hounds they can also question all the acknowledged experts in the field and draw on their knowledge...and hopefully, ask some of the tough questions that the experts might be trying to avoid. And finally, a good writer can usually put together a readable book. Though this one follows the well worn formula of personal anecdote (maybe with a bit of the flavour of the eccentric scientist she is interviewing) then into the science ...or often history in this case. Mitchell traces the development of knowledge about magnets and the earth's magnetic field from the very beginnings though until the present. Along the way we are treated to the intriguing story of magnetism in rocks and reversals of magnetism and how the magnetism in rocks let to the gradual adoption of the drifting continents theory. (although not without huge opposition). William Gilbert put it rather well when he said that he would be..."dammed and torn to pieces by the maledictions of those who are either sworn to the opinions of other men, or are foolish, corruptors of good arts,learned idiots, grammatists, sophists, wranglers , and perverse little folk"....And sure enough the Jesuits led the attack. "Heliocentism was ...monstrous. According to contemporary (around 1600AD) interpretations of the bible, the earth was the core of God's creation . This meant that everything else had to revolve around it.To claim anything else was was to claim that the Bible was wrong . Heresy".
Hard to fight against these sorts of ideas. They were pretty resistant to evidence and reason or common sense. And quick to burn people at the stake to make their point about "wrong belief". Interesting how it was so often those doing the burning who were wrong. Seems like justice was in rather short supply and one wonders what a just god was doing about this sort of activity.
And it wasn't just the clerics who hounded unorthodox belief. P 186 has a nice little vignette about poor Alfred Wegener..who came up with the idea (in 1915) that the continents actually drifted apart ...he was ostracised and unable to find work at a university in his home country...he died trapped in a storm ...when he was 50 and long before he was vindicated. It was not until the 1950's that vindication came. (I recall my high school Geographer teacher commenting the he believed in the Continental Drift theory ..this was about 1959. And he obviously felt he was being quite radical.
Cambridge's Sir Edward Bullard, one of the British lions of geophysics, who first repudiated Wegener's ideas and then championed them, wrote about the backlash in a retrospective essay in the 1970's. "There is always a strong inclination for a body of professionals to oppose an unorthodox view. Such a group has a considerable investment in orthodoxy: They have learned to interpret a large body of data in terms of the old view, and they have prepared lectures and perhaps written books with the old background. To think the whole subject through again when one is no longer young is not easy and involves admitting a partially misspent youth". This is undoubtedly true but perhaps a kinder, more tolerant view of unorthodoxies might also be warranted rather than the savage burnings and public excoriations felt out to people like Giodorno Bruno and Wegener.
I do like the way that Mitchell tracks down some of the historic places and historic documents . I find that quite fascinating and it certainly adds interest to her tale.
And I did find her summary of electromagnetism quite riveting. P 102: "A stationary charged particle makes an electric field but not a magnetic one. A moving charged particle makes an electrical field and an electrical current, which makes a magnetic field. That can mean a bunch of moving charged particles in a current, or it can be the spin of an electron within an atom.You can take the idea down to the scale of a single atom of iron. Its negatively charged, unpaired electrons are creating a tiny magnetic field. If you put enough of these atoms together so that the tiny magnetic fields arrange themselves to amplify one another instead of cancelling each other out, you get a magnetic substance". There seems to me to be hints there of the particle-wave duality. (If it doesn't move...it's a point with an electric charge....but if it moves then it behaves as waves (electrical and magnetic)). And movement implies space and time changes...and there are serious problems with the space-time concepts.
As she says: "Albert Einstein realised that what constitutes "movement" here depends on one's frame of reference If you are at rest with respect to an electrical charge, you will see an electrical field. If you are moving with respect to the same electrical charge, you will see a moving charge which is producing an electrical current as well as a magnetic field. The same is true when you are stationary with respect to an electrical charge that is moving. It's all about perspective. It's all, as Einstein would say, relative".
The story ends....kind of....with Mitchell musing about another reversal of the poles. "When the poles revers and the earth's shield is weakened, some of that solar and galactic radiation will reach into the lower atmosphere and even parts of the surface".....and that will be very bad for humankind: acute radiation poisoning etc. Not so much a question of if it might happen but rather how soon it will happen?
Quite a nice book. Would it have made a difference if Mitchell was an expert? Probably. But then we would not have been able to detect the bias. It would have benefited from some diagrams and pictures. I give it 4 stars.
Hard to fight against these sorts of ideas. They were pretty resistant to evidence and reason or common sense. And quick to burn people at the stake to make their point about "wrong belief". Interesting how it was so often those doing the burning who were wrong. Seems like justice was in rather short supply and one wonders what a just god was doing about this sort of activity.
And it wasn't just the clerics who hounded unorthodox belief. P 186 has a nice little vignette about poor Alfred Wegener..who came up with the idea (in 1915) that the continents actually drifted apart ...he was ostracised and unable to find work at a university in his home country...he died trapped in a storm ...when he was 50 and long before he was vindicated. It was not until the 1950's that vindication came. (I recall my high school Geographer teacher commenting the he believed in the Continental Drift theory ..this was about 1959. And he obviously felt he was being quite radical.
Cambridge's Sir Edward Bullard, one of the British lions of geophysics, who first repudiated Wegener's ideas and then championed them, wrote about the backlash in a retrospective essay in the 1970's. "There is always a strong inclination for a body of professionals to oppose an unorthodox view. Such a group has a considerable investment in orthodoxy: They have learned to interpret a large body of data in terms of the old view, and they have prepared lectures and perhaps written books with the old background. To think the whole subject through again when one is no longer young is not easy and involves admitting a partially misspent youth". This is undoubtedly true but perhaps a kinder, more tolerant view of unorthodoxies might also be warranted rather than the savage burnings and public excoriations felt out to people like Giodorno Bruno and Wegener.
I do like the way that Mitchell tracks down some of the historic places and historic documents . I find that quite fascinating and it certainly adds interest to her tale.
And I did find her summary of electromagnetism quite riveting. P 102: "A stationary charged particle makes an electric field but not a magnetic one. A moving charged particle makes an electrical field and an electrical current, which makes a magnetic field. That can mean a bunch of moving charged particles in a current, or it can be the spin of an electron within an atom.You can take the idea down to the scale of a single atom of iron. Its negatively charged, unpaired electrons are creating a tiny magnetic field. If you put enough of these atoms together so that the tiny magnetic fields arrange themselves to amplify one another instead of cancelling each other out, you get a magnetic substance". There seems to me to be hints there of the particle-wave duality. (If it doesn't move...it's a point with an electric charge....but if it moves then it behaves as waves (electrical and magnetic)). And movement implies space and time changes...and there are serious problems with the space-time concepts.
As she says: "Albert Einstein realised that what constitutes "movement" here depends on one's frame of reference If you are at rest with respect to an electrical charge, you will see an electrical field. If you are moving with respect to the same electrical charge, you will see a moving charge which is producing an electrical current as well as a magnetic field. The same is true when you are stationary with respect to an electrical charge that is moving. It's all about perspective. It's all, as Einstein would say, relative".
The story ends....kind of....with Mitchell musing about another reversal of the poles. "When the poles revers and the earth's shield is weakened, some of that solar and galactic radiation will reach into the lower atmosphere and even parts of the surface".....and that will be very bad for humankind: acute radiation poisoning etc. Not so much a question of if it might happen but rather how soon it will happen?
Quite a nice book. Would it have made a difference if Mitchell was an expert? Probably. But then we would not have been able to detect the bias. It would have benefited from some diagrams and pictures. I give it 4 stars.
February 8, 2018
I had higher hopes for The Spinning Magnet: The Force that Created the Modern World and Could Destroy It. I was looking for more “This is what’s going to happen! Look at how unprepared we are! This is how it is going to change the world! Everyone run for your lives… wait… WE HAVE NOWHERE TO RUN!!!” (There was a chapter along these lines this near the end.) What Alanna Mitchell gives you is a history of magnetism: its discovery, the expansion of our knowledge, and application to earth sciences. None of this is bad – but as fairly baseline physics guy, I sometimes had trouble grasping the actual science of magnetism that was expansively detailed throughout. I wish there was more story here from the author’s perspective: why has a Latin scholar decided to write this book? What is her journey? She takes us through her conversations and lets us meet the people she met, but it isn’t the most exciting sub-narrative within the larger nonfiction work.
Good for physics enthusiasts who speak the language! And who don’t mind reading the word “magnet” over so many times… but not so good for someone like me who was looking for more “maybes” and speculation. Where are the madcap prophesies!? Not here, you apocalypse-seekers.
PS - I am curious as to why this cover with sans serif font was used as opposed to the other, which fit in better with the subtitle font INSIDE the book. It seems there was a disconnect there and don't understand the change. Perhaps the publisher could elucidate... why two covers?
Good for physics enthusiasts who speak the language! And who don’t mind reading the word “magnet” over so many times… but not so good for someone like me who was looking for more “maybes” and speculation. Where are the madcap prophesies!? Not here, you apocalypse-seekers.
PS - I am curious as to why this cover with sans serif font was used as opposed to the other, which fit in better with the subtitle font INSIDE the book. It seems there was a disconnect there and don't understand the change. Perhaps the publisher could elucidate... why two covers?
November 19, 2021
First book I finished while riding the bus!
Probably wouldn't have gotten it if I read the goodreads review. And it started out kind of slow for me. But it turns out to be a fun book to read. Learned a lot about geophysics and scientific history never fails to surprise me. A lot of the big scientific discoveries I read about emerge from outcast ideas, that really makes one wonder the teaching at school. The top institutions used to follow bible as well.
I think people think scientist should have moral and care about what their discoveries may lead to, I think that's not the most important thing scientist should care about. Politics and religion are more important than that. I think we think too much about discoveries like nuclear bomb, but in reality those types of discoveries are a lot less common than influence politics and religion has on science.
I also hope the corona mass ejaculation doesn't happen again facing earth before I die, that would be some rough times.
Probably wouldn't have gotten it if I read the goodreads review. And it started out kind of slow for me. But it turns out to be a fun book to read. Learned a lot about geophysics and scientific history never fails to surprise me. A lot of the big scientific discoveries I read about emerge from outcast ideas, that really makes one wonder the teaching at school. The top institutions used to follow bible as well.
I think people think scientist should have moral and care about what their discoveries may lead to, I think that's not the most important thing scientist should care about. Politics and religion are more important than that. I think we think too much about discoveries like nuclear bomb, but in reality those types of discoveries are a lot less common than influence politics and religion has on science.
I also hope the corona mass ejaculation doesn't happen again facing earth before I die, that would be some rough times.
April 14, 2022
Fascinating book covering the science history of magnetism from ancient Greece to modern day.
I learned many things that I did not know about electricity and magnetism and the magnetic field generated by the earth that protects us from solar and galactic radiation. One could say that we would have a very different world without it.
Which leads to the main gist of the book: what happens if the earth no longer generates that field? There have been numerous cases in the past when the magnetic poles switched on earth generally accompanied by decades if not hundreds of years of reduced magnetic field shielding. If that should happen again soon then most likely all electrical and electronic equipment would quit working leading to some greater or lesser catastrophe (there is debate on this).
Worth the read just to ponder how fragile our little bit of real estate is in the wider universe.
I learned many things that I did not know about electricity and magnetism and the magnetic field generated by the earth that protects us from solar and galactic radiation. One could say that we would have a very different world without it.
Which leads to the main gist of the book: what happens if the earth no longer generates that field? There have been numerous cases in the past when the magnetic poles switched on earth generally accompanied by decades if not hundreds of years of reduced magnetic field shielding. If that should happen again soon then most likely all electrical and electronic equipment would quit working leading to some greater or lesser catastrophe (there is debate on this).
Worth the read just to ponder how fragile our little bit of real estate is in the wider universe.
December 3, 2020
It was fine. I learned more about the history of magnetism research and the earth's inner workings. The alarmist atmosphere throughout alluding to a sensational world-threatening dire situation of a magnetic pole reversal got repetitive and didn't get me riled up like I think it's supposed to. It's good to be aware of the impacts of weakening magnetic fields on our technology and civilization, but I've read too much on climate change and the associated myriad ecological and humanitarian disasters occurring now and expected in the upcoming decades. In comparison I just can't get keyed up about this threat that could be centuries in the making. Although that's the sort of view too many have taken on climate change and here we are.
February 3, 2021
Alanna Mitchell, a journalist turned author, explains clearly and concisely the earth’s electromagnetic field— historical findings and the current state. She doesn't sugar coat any possible events that could have massive impact on life on earth when it comes to solar events, flipping of the poles or how the weakening electromagnetic field could cause technology issues. But, this is not a doomsday book. It is an excellent account of what we have learned about our planet as a celestial body and how we can continue to observe earth's magnetic patterns to understand global changes in the future.
Recommended read for any scientist, geologist, energy or climate professional, or curious human. Easy to read and digest with great recommendations to sources to understand more.
Recommended read for any scientist, geologist, energy or climate professional, or curious human. Easy to read and digest with great recommendations to sources to understand more.
November 12, 2021
Well, 2-stars plus one for discussing one of my favourite subjects: geomagnetism. And it's good, every now and then, to have these learned area be given the Womans Weekly treatment. Oh, and trying to make magnetism 'exciting' . . . well, it is kinda cool. But, I mean, come on.
Other than that, unfortunately, this book is
- fiercy melodramatic. I mean like every sentence.
- at a very basic, housewife level
- desperately trying to make a magnetic pole reversal seem like a real possibility, despite all experts saying "well. . . no".
I have to admit though, Alanna has collected a good pile of factoids. I just wish she could write (properly).
Other than that, unfortunately, this book is
- fiercy melodramatic. I mean like every sentence.
- at a very basic, housewife level
- desperately trying to make a magnetic pole reversal seem like a real possibility, despite all experts saying "well. . . no".
I have to admit though, Alanna has collected a good pile of factoids. I just wish she could write (properly).
April 16, 2018
An unusual topic, well presented. It's split between a historically themed introduction to geomagnetism and a slightly -- but only slightly -- sensationalised treatment of the risks from unpredictable future shifts in the Earth's magnetic fields. She admits upfront to her lack of relevant background, which worried me, but she has done exceptionally well in educating herself on the topic and on the broad range of scientific concepts that underly her story. Her limitations show through only very rarely, either in outright mistakes or in lightly digested reports from experts.
Read
August 24, 2022Author is a bona fide scientist. Unfortunately the first half of the book is detailed character descriptions of various scientists throughout history. Might be of interest to you - I found it profoundly boring. The second half goes into detail as to why and how things will play out as the Earth's poles reverse polarity over a number of decades. Goodnews: This process has happened many times before and life still thrives on earth. Bad news: anything electronic is toast. Part speculation, part cutting edge science. Recommended read.
November 12, 2024
A tad boring and repetitive - this book is long-form text. It could have done well with supplementary illustrations, diagrams and tables that helped explain some of the stuff that author describes in the book.
The attempt to put the same cliff-hanger about the world ending (on reversal of magnetic poles) in the last paragraph of every chapter - kills any impact that it tried creating in the first place.
Still this book is a good refresher course to electricity, magnetism, and geology with a dash of good-old paranoia about the end of the world.
The attempt to put the same cliff-hanger about the world ending (on reversal of magnetic poles) in the last paragraph of every chapter - kills any impact that it tried creating in the first place.
Still this book is a good refresher course to electricity, magnetism, and geology with a dash of good-old paranoia about the end of the world.
July 26, 2020
As expected the author does a good job of covering the Carrington Event of 1859 and the solar storm of 2012. But I didn't know that the Apollo astronauts narrowly missed being fried by a solar storm that hit between the return of Apollo 16 & the launch of 17. I also learned lot more about the earths telluric currents. Two subjects the author briefly covered that I want to know a lot more about is magnetoreception in animals and the science fiction-esque Magnetotactic bacteria.
July 30, 2025
It was good after about the 50% mark. Everything before is just atheistic grand standing that has almost nothing to do with the thesis of the book. Almost every line until the halfway point is “scientists thought x but the Vatican said no”. It gets extremely old quickly.
The latter half of the book though was fantastic, exactly the sort of exploration into the Earth’s magnetic field I was looking for.
The latter half of the book though was fantastic, exactly the sort of exploration into the Earth’s magnetic field I was looking for.
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