The National MagLab is funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida.
These demonstrations about laws and tools associated with electricity and magnetism allow you to adjust variables at and to visualize invisible forces — which makes them almost better than the real thing.
Seeing is believing. In these animations, we show you what electricity and magnetism might look like if they weren't invisible.
Learn about electricity and magnetism — and have some fun while you're at it!
How do Maglev trains work? What are comets made of? How do bugs walk on water? This section demonstrates these and other concepts related to magnetism, electricity and other areas of science.
Whether you prefer your science short & sweet or long & detailed, we spell it out for you here in easy-to-understand language.
Read fun science stories told in comic strip style.
There is beauty and art in science. Gaze on these stories of discoveries that could be featured on museum walls instead of scientific journals.
Explore these surprising, unconventional and sometimes downright strange stories about high magnetic field research.
These special science graphics explain science stories in digestible steps and include optional detours for readers wanting more background to customize your reading journey.
Get to know these pioneers who went down in history for their groundbreaking work, including scientists behind common terms such as Amp, Celsius, Kelvin, hertz and tesla.
From the world's first compass to the magnetic force microscope and beyond, explore a variety of instruments, tools and machines throughout history.
Our timeline takes you through the highlights of electricity and magnetism and across the centuries.
Take a field trip to these high magnetic field landmarks around the globe.
The telephone and first practical incandescent light bulb are invented while the word "electron" enters the scientific lexicon.
1873
Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell provides a detailed discussion of his theory of electromagnetism in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism.
English electrical engineer Willoughby Smith discovers photoconductivity when he observes that selenium conducts electricity better when exposed to light.
1874
Irish physicist George Stoney estimates the charge on the particle of electricity which he would later call the electron.
1875
Physicist John Kerr of Scotland discovers that birefringence can be induced in a transparent material by applying a strong electric field so that it is transverse to the light beam, a phenomenon now referred to as the Kerr electro-optic effect.
1876
American physicist Henry Rowland experimentally proves that a moving electric charge is magnetically equivalent to an electric current.
Inventor Alexander Graham Bell receives a U.S. patent for his version of the telephone which, unlike the rudimentary design of Phillip Reis, was capable of successfully transmitting human speech and other sounds.
Russian electrical engineer and inventor Paul Jablochkov develops an improved arc lamp with a simple design known as the Jablochkov candle, which becomes the preferred form of electric street lighting for several years.
1879
English physicist Joseph Swan, who had invented a primitive electric light in 1860, demonstrates a practical incandescent light bulb in his country; inventor Thomas Edison makes a similar demonstration of the electric light he independently invented in America.
At the suggestion of Henry Rowland, American physicist Edwin Hall carries out an experiment while working on his doctoral thesis that results in his discovery of the Hall effect, which refers to the voltage difference produced by a magnetic field applied perpendicularly to a solid carrying an electric current.
