Mag Lab U: Learning about Electricity and Magnetism

This is one-stop shopping for nearly anything you might want to know about electricity and magnetism. From André-Marie Ampère to Wilhelm Weber, from 600 BC to the 21st century, from one end of the World Wide Web to the other: All you need is a mouse and an inquiring mind.

Interactive Java Tutorials
This growing list of Java applets depicts numerous concepts, laws, tools and historical milestones associated with electricity and magnetism. Visitors can take a hands-on approach (virtually) to learning with these tutorials, which feature explanatory text.

Magnet Academy
You won’t find any tests, formulas or cryptic science-ese here. Our goal is to explain some of the very cool work that goes on at our lab in a way that won’t scare away artists or English majors. Learn about magnets, MRIs, cryogenics and more.

Audio Slideshows
This new and growing section includes features on how we make resistive magnets and other topics.

Magnet Minute
An audio dictionary about the Mag Lab in which our scientists define terms that are bandied about at the lab, but missing from most people's vocabulary.

Pioneers in Electricity and Magnetism
Amp, Celsius, Kelvin, hertz, tesla: These terms are familiar to all science students. Behind them is a group of scientists who went down in history for their groundbreaking work in magnetism and electricity. Who were these brilliant inventors, physicists and chemists, and what lasting contributions did they make to their fields – and to our lives? Get to know these pioneers by visiting this page.

Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism
Our timeline guides you through the highlights of electricity and magnetism across the globe, from the first compasses in China to the invention of magnetic core computer memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and beyond.

Museum of Electricity and Magnetism
From the world's first "south-pointer" (an early compass) to modern instruments such as the magnetic force microscope, our Museum of Electricity and Magnetism will introduce you to a variety of instruments, tools and machines devised over the centuries.

Tools of the Trade
This new section of our Web site highlights tools and techniques used by scientists here at the
Mag Lab.

Materials Under the Microscope
A series of more technical discussions on topics that include superconductivity and thin metallic films, illustrated by photomicrographs that offer brilliant close-ups of these materials.

Electricity and Magnetism on the Web
Check out these quality Web sites. We've done the sifting for you, identifying reputable sites offering great content. Produced by a wide variety of educational and other institutions, these sites let you see magnets levitate, explore electric fields and a lot more. With names like Ohm Zone, Fizzics Fizzle and Wafer Maker, these sources present the material in a smart, engaging way.

Mag Lab U graphics © by Molecular Expressions. Text © by Florida State University.