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View synonyms for magnetic needle

magnetic needle

noun

  1. a slender magnetized steel rod that, when adjusted to swing in a horizontal plane, as in a compass, indicates the direction of the earth's magnetic fields or the approximate position of north and south.


magnetic needle

noun

  1. a slender magnetized rod used in certain instruments, such as the magnetic compass, for indicating the direction of a magnetic field
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of magnetic needle1

First recorded in 1840–50
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Example Sentences

After analyzing the field strength frozen in the tiny magnetic needles, they found that its intensity had already jumped to 70% of present values, they reported at the AGU meeting.

The researchers looked at samples of plagioclase and clinopyroxene from eastern Quebec, Canada and found that they contain magnetic needles approximately 50 to 100 nanometers in size, surprising the researchers.

Finding the magnetoreceptors responsible for triggering these neurons has been like looking for a magnetic needle in a haystack.

On this as on the previous voyage, Hudson made some observations on the inclination or “dip” of the magnetic needle, and he is probably the first Englishman who had done so.

Faraday showed that a rotating disk of non-magnetic metal would draw after it in similar rotation a magnetic needle suspended over it, and even a heavy magnet.

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