Absolute measurement of terrestrial magnetism (Gauss's magnetometer)
Medida absoluta del magnetismo terrestre (magnetómetro de Gauss)
- Date
- 1832 · confidence high
- Place
- Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
- Credited to
- Carl Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Weber
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
Gauss uses a suspended magnet to measure the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field in absolute units derived from length, mass and time (millimetre, milligram, second), rather than comparing it with an arbitrary magnet. It is the seed of absolute unit systems and the worldwide network of magnetic observatories.
Gauss published 'Intensitas vis magneticae terrestris ad mensuram absolutam revocata' in 1832. The CGS unit of magnetic induction was named the 'gauss' in 1932 in his honour.
What it led to
- the British Association's absolute (CGS) unit system
- the Göttingen Magnetic Union, an international observatory network
- the Gauss-Weber electromagnetic telegraph (1833)