Magnetic dip (Hartmann and Norman)
Inclinación magnética (Hartmann y Norman)
- Date
- 1544 (Hartmann) / 1581 (Norman) · confidence medium
- Place
- Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
- Credited to
- Georg Hartmann; Robert Norman
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
A magnetised needle free to swing in a vertical plane tilts toward the ground depending on latitude. Hartmann noted it in 1544 in a letter; Norman, a London compass maker, measured and published it in 'The Newe Attractive' in 1581.
Hartmann discovered it in 1544 but did not publish; Norman found it independently around 1576 and made it public in 1581. Both usually appear as discoverers.
What it led to
- the dip circle for studying the Earth's field
- the Earth as a great magnet (De Magnete, Gilbert)
- magnetic dip charts