Home PBS Space Time Season 2021 Episode 21

How Magnetism Shapes The Universe

PBS Space Time · Season 2021 · Episode 21
How far can you follow a compass needle? As far as the north magnetic pole where the needle starts spinning wildly? Compass needles align with magnetic field lines; and on the precise spot of magnetic north, those field lines are vertical. So just tilt your compass 90 degrees and you can continue your journey: either down to the molten iron dynamo surrounding Earth's core; or up. But up to where? The answer: to everywhere. And today that's exactly where we're going to go.

Episode Details

Air date, runtime, timezone, and episode position.

Season
2021
Episode
21
Air Date
21/Jul/2021
Air Time
12:00
Runtime
20 min

Overview

Episode summary.

How far can you follow a compass needle? As far as the north magnetic pole where the needle starts spinning wildly? Compass needles align with magnetic field lines; and on the precise spot of magnetic north, those field lines are vertical. So just tilt your compass 90 degrees and you can continue your journey: either down to the molten iron dynamo surrounding Earth's core; or up. But up to where? The answer: to everywhere. And today that's exactly where we're going to go.

Episode Navigation

Move between previous and next episodes.