Abstract
The evolution of the concept of magnetism is followed in two different civilisations, the Chinese and the European. In China the influence of magic and superstitions prevented, for a very long time, the development of magnetism into a modern science. Indeed more than ten centuries passed between the discovery of the characteristics of magnetic materials and their practical application. In Europe, Aristotle blocked any progress for many centuries with his philosophical theories. Only in the late middle ages, with the first attempt of philosophers and scientists to rebel against Aristotle’s authority, did magnetism begin its own path towards science. Gilbert gave magnetism its definitive importance and the dignity of a true and modern science.
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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Russo, U., Capolongo, F. (1991). An Outline of the Prehistory of Magnetism. In: Long, G.J., Grandjean, F. (eds) Supermagnets, Hard Magnetic Materials. NATO ASI Series, vol 331. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3324-1_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3324-1_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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