The National MagLab is funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida.
These demonstrations about laws and tools associated with electricity and magnetism allow you to adjust variables at and to visualize invisible forces — which makes them almost better than the real thing.
Seeing is believing. In these animations, we show you what electricity and magnetism might look like if they weren't invisible.
Learn about electricity and magnetism — and have some fun while you're at it!
How do Maglev trains work? What are comets made of? How do bugs walk on water? This section demonstrates these and other concepts related to magnetism, electricity and other areas of science.
Whether you prefer your science short & sweet or long & detailed, we spell it out for you here in easy-to-understand language.
Read fun science stories told in comic strip style.
There is beauty and art in science. Gaze on these stories of discoveries that could be featured on museum walls instead of scientific journals.
Explore these surprising, unconventional and sometimes downright strange stories about high magnetic field research.
These special science graphics explain science stories in digestible steps and include optional detours for readers wanting more background to customize your reading journey.
Get to know these pioneers who went down in history for their groundbreaking work, including scientists behind common terms such as Amp, Celsius, Kelvin, hertz and tesla.
From the world's first compass to the magnetic force microscope and beyond, explore a variety of instruments, tools and machines throughout history.
Our timeline takes you through the highlights of electricity and magnetism and across the centuries.
Take a field trip to these high magnetic field landmarks around the globe.
The electron has fascinated humankind for centuries. Here are some highlights from the annals of science.
Around 600 B.C.
Thales, an ancient Greek “thinker,” notices that amber attracts small objects when rubbed with fur.
1600
An English scientist coins the term “electricus" to describe the property Thales observed centuries before. From the Greek word for amber, the word later engenders the terms "electricity" and "electron."
1752
Brainy Ben Franklin takes one for the team by tying a key to a kite during a thunderstorm. He convinces the world that static electricity and lightning are, in fact, the same thing.
1800
Alessandro Volta learns to store steady, reliable electrical currents in the first batteries.
1820
Some astute scientists question whether something's going on between electricity and magnetism. After observing them together on numerous occasions, they confirm their suspicions with a series of discoveries; electromagnetism becomes the "it couple" of the century.
1842
Michael Faraday uses electricity to split compounds into individual elements, a process termed "electrolysis." He is also to thank for the principles of electromagnetic induction, generation and transmission.
1865
James Clerk Maxwell proposes that electromagnetism exists as waves travelling the speed of light, backing this revolutionary thought with his equations.
1878
Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison invent and develop the light bulb, changing forever the way we see the world.
1894
George Johnstone Stoney proposes a fundamental unit of electricity called the "electron."
1897
J.J. Thompson's experiments conclude the existence of the tiny, negatively charged particles named by Stoney.
1911
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers that, at extremely low temperatures, electrical resistance in mercury drops to zip, a phenomenon that came to be called superconductivity.
1931
Ernst Ruska builds the first electron microscope. Using beams of electrons to create images, it provides greater resolution and magnification than light microscopes.
1975
Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack invent a new use for X-rays (which, like light, are produced by the movement of electrons in atoms). Their system uses X-rays in CT scans to look inside the body’s tissues.
1989
Tim Berners Lee invents the World Wide Web, which combined electronic networks around the world to create what we now know as the internet.
2017
There are 5.1 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide. We have electrons to thank for that.
Story by Abigail Engleman
