Magnet

We take it for granted yet the magnet is fundamental to our existence-as important as gravity-and to our survival on this planet and in this universe. It is fundamental to the way we think, how we get home, and how we talk about fascination and love.

The magnet has been in existence for more than 13 billion years, born just after the big bang. Magnets were used by ancient cultures for architecture, alignment and art. They are in MRIs, maglev trains, tape recorders, and other technologies. From the physical to the metaphorical, our language is littered with magnetic allusions: magnetic personalities, animal magnetism, Mesmerism.

Since humans began to write about it two thousand years ago, the magnet has inspired tales of myth, magic, exploration, science, and art. Eva Barbarossa weaves together these stories of ancient and modern wonders, of discovery and creation, of madness and desire, of beauty and awe, taking us from the spectacle of the aurora borealis to the disastrous searches for magnetic north.

Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in the The Atlantic.