ou have ever used a compass (either the traditional mechanical one or the one built in your Smartphone), then you know it always points north. If you suspend a refrigerator magnet, it will also point north. This suggests that there is a magnetic field all around us generated by the earth under your feet!

The earth’s magnetic field extends MILLIONS of KILOMETRES into outer space and looks very much like a bar magnet. The earth’s SOUTH magnetic pole is actually near the North Pole and the magnetic north pole is in Antarctica! This is why a compass magnet’s north pole actually points north (north and south poles attract). The Earth’s magnetic field extends far and wide but is very weak in TERMS of field strength. A mere 40,000 nT compared to a refrigerator magnet which has a strength of 10

The Earth’s magnetic field extends far and wide but is very weak in terms of field strength. A mere 40,000 nT compared to a refrigerator magnet which has a strength of 107 nT!

1,06,312

Theory of Earth’s MAGNETISM

There is one theory that explains how the earth’s magnetism is caused:

Dynamo effect: The earth gets its own magnetic field lines because of the presence of the metallic fluids that are present at the outer core as well as in the inner core. The outer core consists of molten iron, while the inner core has the solidified elements.