Magnetism, a force of nature

The Forces of Nature by Kelland Terry, Ph.D.
My dad was a civil engineer by trade, but he wanted to be a farmer like his dad before him. For this reason he homesteaded some land in Rockville that extended up and onto the mountain in back of us. We had a spectacular view of Zion National Park but some of the worst farmland on record. The stuff we grew best was pet rocks and lizards. Dad didn’t seem to mind. On weekends he was either hoeing the garden, building or tearing down a barn, or building a new fence line. He was always dressed in khaki clothes and wearing a tie, no matter how dirty the job. Since I was the only son left home, I became his helpmate. Any nails removed from old boards were always reused because when I was a kid, they were far too precious to throw away, at least for us. I was chief nail “straightner”. We had an old magnet I would drag through the dirt where we were working to clamp onto the hidden nails beneath our feet. I learned to appreciate magnets even though I knew absolutely nothing about how they worked.
The magnetic force of attraction between magnet and nail comprises one of the great mysteries that people have pondered over for more than 2000 years. Magnetism is, like gravity, one of the forces of nature. Hold two small children’s magnets in your hands and bring them close to each other. Isn’t it amazing how they push your hands apart or pull them together depending on which ends are pointed at each other. You can stare all you want at the space between the magnets, but you will not be able to see any connecting links that might be pulling the two magnets together. It’s a great mystery. In this respect, the magnetic force and gravitational force are very much alike. They are dependent upon some hidden something or other that we cannot see.
The questions I posed were these. Would a spinning ball in flight curve more when shot through a magnetic field? Would they react to the hidden strings? This was something I had to try. Till then, be safe and in good health. Kelland—www.vestheory.com