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Magnetic needle   /mægnˈɛtɪk nˈidəl/   Listen
adjective
Magnetical, Magnetic  adj.  
1.
Pertaining to the magnet; possessing the properties of the magnet, or corresponding properties; as, a magnetic bar of iron; a magnetic needle.
2.
Of or pertaining to, or characterized by, the earth's magnetism; as, the magnetic north; the magnetic meridian.
3.
Capable of becoming a magnet; susceptible to magnetism; as, the magnetic metals.
4.
Endowed with extraordinary personal power to excite the feelings and to win the affections; attractive; inducing attachment. "She that had all magnetic force alone."
5.
Having, susceptible to, or induced by, animal magnetism, so called; hypnotic; as, a magnetic sleep. See Magnetism. (Archaic)
Magnetic amplitude, Magnetic attraction, Magnetic dip, Magnetic induction, etc. See under Amplitude, Attraction, etc.
Magnetic battery, a combination of bar or horseshoe magnets with the like poles adjacent, so as to act together with great power.
Magnetic compensator, a contrivance connected with a ship's compass for compensating or neutralizing the effect of the iron of the ship upon the needle.
Magnetic curves, curves indicating lines of magnetic force, as in the arrangement of iron filings between the poles of a powerful magnet.
Magnetic elements.
(a)
(Chem. Physics) Those elements, as iron, nickel, cobalt, chromium, manganese, etc., which are capable or becoming magnetic.
(b)
(Physics) In respect to terrestrial magnetism, the declination, inclination, and intensity.
(c)
See under Element.
Magnetic fluid, the hypothetical fluid whose existence was formerly assumed in the explanations of the phenomena of magnetism; no longer considered a meaningful concept.
Magnetic iron, or Magnetic iron ore. (Min.) Same as Magnetite.
Magnetic needle, a slender bar of steel, magnetized and suspended at its center on a sharp-pointed pivot, or by a delicate fiber, so that it may take freely the direction of the magnetic meridian. It constitutes the essential part of a compass, such as the mariner's and the surveyor's.
Magnetic poles, the two points in the opposite polar regions of the earth at which the direction of the dipping needle is vertical.
Magnetic pyrites. See Pyrrhotite.
Magnetic storm (Terrestrial Physics), a disturbance of the earth's magnetic force characterized by great and sudden changes.
magnetic tape (Electronics), a ribbon of plastic material to which is affixed a thin layer of powder of a material which can be magnetized, such as ferrite. Such tapes are used in various electronic devices to record fluctuating voltages, which can be used to represent sounds, images, or binary data. Devices such as audio casette recorders, videocasette recorders, and computer data storage devices use magnetic tape as an inexpensive medium to store data. Different magnetically susceptible materials are used in such tapes.
Magnetic telegraph, a telegraph acting by means of a magnet. See Telegraph.


noun
magnetic needle  n.  A slender magnet suspended in a magnetic compass on a low-friction mounting; used to indicate the direction of the earth's magnetic pole.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Magnetic needle" Quotes from Famous Books



... box with its moving needle was first used, it is now admitted, by the cunning merchants of Cathay during their trading expeditions across the stony monotonous plains of Central Asia that lay between the Flowery Land and the civilization of Persia. From Cathay the use of the magnetic needle was introduced to the Arab mathematicians of Baghdad and Cairo, and through them the secret of the lodestone of China was conveyed to the coast towns of the Levant. At Aleppo or Alexandria some astute trader of Amalfi—perhaps his name really ...
— The Naples Riviera • Herbert M. Vaughan
... the doctor admired all these cosmic phenomena, to which his companions paid but little attention; he had noticed, besides, that their appearance always preceded disturbances of the magnetic needle, and he was preparing some observations on the subject which he intended for Admiral ...
— The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras • Jules Verne
... which provide disaffection with its opportunity; and in the natural confusion which attended the revolt from the papacy, the obligations of duty, both political and religious, had become indefinite and contradictory, pointing in all directions, like the magnetic needle ...
— History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. II. • James Anthony Froude
... Power of a Magnet. The magnet best known to us all is the compass needle, but for convenience we will use a magnetic needle in the shape of a bar larger and stronger than that employed in the compass. If we lay such a magnet on a pile of iron filings, it will be found on lifting the magnet that the filings cling to the ends in tufts, but leave it almost bare in the center (Fig. 222). The points ...
— General Science • Bertha M. Clark
... action of a voltaic current on a magnetic needle; and immediately afterwards the splendid intellect of Ampere succeeded in showing that every magnetic phenomenon then known might be reduced to the mutual action of electric currents. The subject occupied all men's thoughts: and in this country Dr. Wollaston sought to convert the deflection ...
— Faraday As A Discoverer • John Tyndall


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