Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. How does a magnetic compass work: compass. How does a magnetic compass work? Well, it’s all down to basic physics and human ...

Although the Earth’s magnetic field is reliable enough for navigation and is also essential for blocking harmful solar emissions and for improving radio communications, it’s not a uniform strength ...

A team of physicists and engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered a new way to measure the orientation of magnetic fields using what may be the tiniest compasses around—atoms.

Recently the MagQuest competition on improving the measuring of the Earth’s magnetic field announced that the contestants in the final phase have now moved on to launching their satellites within the ...

A new technique uses quantum sensors to enable precise measurements of magnetic fields in different directions. A new way of measuring atomic-scale magnetic fields with great precision, not only up ...

If shrunken down to micron size, a compass needle could wobble. (Courtesy: iStockphoto/tobias machhaus) A tiny magnetic needle just 10 μm long could be used to create a magnetic-field sensor that – if ...