THERE is no more famous book in the history of science than William Gilbert's De Magnete (On the Magnet), published in London in 1600.It is usually called the first great scientific work written ...

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Much of De Magnete is a ground-breaking demonstration of experimental physics, but in the final sections Gilbert extended his thinking into theories of astronomy and cosmology. These metaphysical ...

William Gilbert, quite literally, wrote the book on magnetism. Prior to his work, which culminated in his epic treatise, De Magnete, the effects of magnetism William Gilbert, quite literally ...

When sixty years of age he published his famous book “De Magnete, magnetisque corporibus et de magno magnete tellure”. This was the first great work on physical science published in England.

In De magnete Gilbert described conducting a wide range of experiments with lodestones, iron and magnetic compasses. Most significant for our understanding of the poles were his experiments with ...