Magnetism: A Very Short Introduction

• Explains a fundamental scientific topic and its importance in an accessible way
• Considers early theories of magnetism including the discovery that the Earth itself is a magnet
• Explores the work of Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell in unifying magnetism and electricity
• Looks at the quantum mechanical aspects of magnetism
• Considers its importance in modern technology, including magnetic storage in computers and the magnetic fields of planets and stars
• Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over five million copies sold worldwide

Readership: Students of the physical sciences and engineering as well as to general readers interested in this topic.

Stephen J. Blundell, Professor of Physics, Oxford University Department of Physics and Professorial Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford

Stephen J. Blundell is Professor of Physics at Oxford University and a Fellow of Mansfield College. He is actively researching the phenomena of magnetism and superconductivity and has published numerous research papers on these topics, as well as three books, Magnetism in Condensed Matter (OUP, 2001), Concepts in Thermal Physics (with K.M. Blundell) (OUP, 2006), and Superconductivity: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2009).

1: Mysterious attraction?
2: The Earth as a magnet
3: Electrical current and the path to power
4: Unification
5: Magnetism and relativity
6: Quantum magnetism
7: Spin
8: The magnetic library
9: Magnetism on Earth and in space
10: Exotic magnetism
Mathematical Appendix
Further reading