What is a magnetometer?

A Magnetometer is an instrument used by scientists to measure the strength or direction of the magnetic field in the area of the instrument. Earth’s magnetism changes from place to place and differences in the earth’s magnetic field depend on two factors. One is the differing nature of rocks, and the other is the interaction between charged particles from the sun and the magnetosphere.

Magnetometers are used to find deposits of iron since they can measure the magnetic field variations caused by iron deposits. Magnetometers can also be used to detect archeological sites, shipwrecks and other buried objects. Magnetometers are very sensitive, and can give an indication of possible auroral activity before someone could see the light from the aurora. A grid of magnetometers around the world constantly measures the effect of the solar wind on the earth's magnetic field

There are two types of magnetometers. Scalar magnetometers measure the total strength of the magnetic field that they are placed in. Vector magnetometers have the capability to measure the component of the magnetic field in a certain direction.

In 1833 Carl Friedrich Gauss, head of the Geomagnetic Observatory in Gottingen , wrote a paper entitled "On the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field expressed in absolute measure". It described a new instrument that Gauss called a "magnometer" (a term which is still occasionally used instead of magnetometer). It consisted of a permanent bar magnet suspended horizontally from a gold fibre. A magnetometer is also called a gaussmeter.

In conclusion a magnetometer is a devise that measures the direction or strength of a magnetic field. They are also used to find iron. Another use can to find hidden things underground. There are two different kinds of magnetometers, scalar magnetometer and vector magnetometer. Magnetometers come in different shapes and sizes and can be used in many different ways. NR5