William Gilbert
By Brandon Hinders
Biography
Lived: 24 May 1544 to 30 November 1603
Location: London
Profession: Physicist
Interesting fact: He was the Queen Elizabeth's personal physician
Discoveries
Theory: He was the first to argue, correctly, that the centre of the Earth was iron, and he considered an important and related property of magnets was that they can be cut, each forming a new magnet with north and south poles. Also that the earth wasn't the center of the universe.
How: He played around with compasses to see how they were able to always point north. Also, he cut magnets to see if his theory was correct.
Inventions: He wrote the De Magnete books
When: He discovered this in the year 1600
Impact
Change in Understanding: People before the De magnete books, didn't know how magnets worked or the science behind them. Now people know how they work.
Acceptance from society: People almost immediately approved of his findings. They thought his theories sounded logical so they began to buy his books.