The Spinning Magnet Audiobook By Alanna Mitchell cover art

The Spinning Magnet

The Electromagnetic Force that Created the Modern World - and Could Destroy It

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Spinning Magnet

By: Alanna Mitchell
Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

An engrossing history of the science of one of the four fundamental physical forces in the universe, electromagnetism, right up to the latest indications that the poles are soon to reverse and destroy the world's power grids and electronic communications

A cataclysmic planetary phenomenon is gathering force deep within the Earth. The magnetic North Pole will eventually trade places with the South Pole. Satellite evidence suggests to some scientists that the move has already begun, but most still think it won't happen for many decades. All agree that it has happened many times before and will happen again. But this time it will be different. It will be a very bad day for modern civilization.

Award-winning science journalist Alanna Mitchell tells in The Spinning Magnet the fascinating history of one of the four fundamental physical forces in the universe, electromagnetism. From investigations into magnetism in 13th-century feudal France and the realization 600 years later in the Victorian era that electricity and magnetism were essentially the same, to the discovery that Earth was itself a magnet, spinning in space with two poles and that those poles aperiodically reverse, this is a utterly engrossing narrative history of ideas and science that listeners of Stephen Greenblatt and Sam Kean will love.

The recent finding that Earth's magnetic force field is decaying 10 times faster than previously thought, portending an imminent pole reversal, ultimately gives this story a spine-tingling urgency. When the poles switch, a process that takes many years, Earth is unprotected from solar radiation storms that would, among other things, wipe out all electromagnetic technology. No satellites, no Internet, no smartphones - maybe no power grid at all. Such potentially cataclysmic solar storms are not unusual. The last one occurred in 2012, and we avoided returning to the Dark Ages only because the part of the sun that erupted happened to be facing away from Earth. One leading US researcher is already drawing maps of the parts of the planet that would likely become uninhabitable.

©2018 Alanna Mitchell (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Geology History Physics Polar Region Black Hole
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"The Earth's magnetic field -- an invisible cloak that shields our bodies and our technologies from deadly harm -- tends to be taken for granted. In reality it's a fickle, ill-understood phenomenon. Alanna Mitchell delves into the mystery, in an engrossing book that features a new surprise on every page." (Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself)

"In The Spinning Magnet, Alanna Mitchell weaves a scientific mystery in the best possible way, exploring the ancient puzzle of our planet's electromagnetic field, following scientists as they attempt to decipher its clues, leading us to a better understanding of Earth's invisible and powerful electromagnetic field. The result is a compelling tale of unseen and unforeseen natural forces - and a reminder that we've staked our home on a planet that remains infinitely strange, dangerous - and ever full of wonder." (Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York)

"A fascinating untold story of science that is full of mystery and intrigue, and written with a great deal of style." (Mark Miodownik, New York Times best-selling author of Stuff Matters; winner of the Royal Society’s Winton Prize)