subject: Magnet Technology Is At The Forefront Of Industry [print this page] Magnets were known to the early GreeksMagnets were known to the early Greeks. Aristotle and Plato referred to the magnetic properties of certain stones. Cleopatra is said to have slept on a loadstone, a naturally occurring magnetic material, as she believed it would keep her looking young. There are examples from ancient China of medical applications for magnets as many as four thousand years ago. Successive centuries have seen countless applications of this simple but amazing naturally occurring property. Without a doubt, however, the development of industrial magnets has made our own time the golden age for magnets.
Though the principles are not new, modern technology seems to find new and complex uses for magnets every day. The computer revolution, amplified music, cat scans, and electric motors would be impossible without magnets. An easily understood physical force, magnetism is involved with some of the most complex advances of the modern age. Next time you make a phone call, watch a VHS tape, start your car, ring a doorbell, or close your refrigerator, take a moment to thank goodness for magnets.
The impressive list of achievements starts to accumulate when we consider industrial magnets. Computer hard discs use the directional properties of powerful magnets to create binary code. This information is recorded onto a thin magnetic coating on the disc itself. Magnets promise to offer a leap in transportation technology as the Magnetically Levitated Train, or MAGLEV is developed and refined. Using fluctuating electrical currents, this technology creates a situation where train and track have almost no friction, making incredibly high speeds possible. Suspension magnets and magnetic separators are invaluable to mills, cement plants, glass and chemical factories among many others. These specialized devices are designed to speed up the production process by efficiently sorting and organizing important elements.
Future uses for magnets promise to increase as stronger magnets are made smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective. High concept physics is working on ways to better incorporate superconducting magnets into accelerators, which are important to the development of new and radical technologies. In many ways, magnet technology, as simple as it is at the core, is at the vanguard of technology. The smaller, stronger, and more specialized that engineers can build magnets, the more powerful our scientific and industrial capabilities will become. It cannot be denied that the evolution of the space program, energy technologies, subatomic research, and futuristic industrial design all depend on magnet technology. By utilizing and focusing this naturally occurring force, scientists and engineers can make systems more efficient and productive.
Although magnets are as old as the hills, they have never experienced such a surge in usefulness as right now. From medical to scientific and manufacturing technologies, magnets are at the forefront of industry.
