Chapter II
Review of Related Literature
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is
invisible but is responsible for the most distinguished property of a magnet: a force that
pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other
magnets (“Magnet,” n.d.). A magnetic force is the attractive or repulsive force that is
applied between the poles of a magnet and electrically charged moving particles. Mai
(2018) states that there is a magnetic force that will be felt when two magnets are held
out making their poles closer to each other. All magnets have two poles: a north pole
and a south pole. Opposite magnetic poles attract each other while identical magnetic
poles repel each other.
The most popular account for the discovery of magnets is a legend of a shepherd named
Magnes who lived in Magnesia. Roughly 4,000 years ago, a Greek shepherd
named Magnes is said to have been tending his sheep in a region of northern Greece
called Magnesia. He took a step and suddenly found that the nails that held his shoe
together and the metal tip of his staff were stuck fast to the rock he was standing on.
Intrigued, he began digging and discovered the first recorded lodestone. Lodestones
were known as “magnetite,” probably named after Magnes or Magnesia (“Who
discovered the very first Magnet?,” n.d.). According to “A Brief History” (n.d.), the word
magnet is derived from the Greek name magnetis lithos, the stone of Magnesia,
referring to the region on the Aegean coast in present-day Turkey where these magnetic
stones were found.
“Common Ways Magnets Have Been Used Throughout History” (2015) noted that in
ancient times, magnets had a supernatural mystery to them because people didn’t
really know the science behind how they work. However, the early Chinese are believed
to have first used them in magnetic compasses for navigation purposes. They realized
magnets could direct needles and correlated with the north pole, and used that
information to navigate. The early compasses were created with lodestone because
modern magnets were not invented yet. Today magnets play a role almost every
technologically advanced device we use. Magnets are found in many devices that
people use every day. They are in any machine that has a motor. That includes fans,
washing machines, and cars. Motors use magnets and coils of wire to turn electrical
energy into motion.
According to Rampur (2018) magnets, besides being fun to play with, have many uses.
They are either used as consumer goods or as an industrial goods. Magnets are also
used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology. MRI has become a very useful
diagnostic tool and is used when the patient wants to avoid the side effects of radiation
resulting from X-ray imaging. MRI scanning produces more detailed images, and is used
for the evaluation of soft tissues. Another powerful and efficient application of magnets
is that in Maglev trains. In this way, magnets are being used in order to levitate the
vehicle. They are also used to propel the train forward. These trains require low
maintenance and are very efficient since they have no wheels that can provide friction
on the tracks.
Magnetic levitation, also known as maglev is used to levitate objects in air without any
support by using magnetic field. In order to obtain magnetic levitation, there should a
repulsion generated between two magnetic fields. An object is said to be levitated when
the force created by electromagnetic repulsion equalizes the weight of the object.
Technically, it’s the electromagnetic force counteracting the gravitational force. Maglev
train is a famous application of the maglev technology. Almost all the prominent
countries have these trains as a major mode of transport in their system (Raunekk,
2009).
Sadiku and Akujuobi (2006) reiterated that magnetic levitation is a way of using
electromagnetic fields to levitate objects without any noise. It employs diamagnetism,
which is a basic property of many materials referring to their ability to temporarily expel
a portion of an external magnetic field. As a result, diamagnetic materials are repelled
by strong magnetic fields. This repulsive force, however, is very weak compared with the
attractive force due to magnetic fields. Maglev is the means of floating one magnet over
another. This maglev system is divided into two types attractive systems and repulsive
systems, which are referred to as electromagnetic suspension and electrodynamics
suspension. Thus many countries spend billions of dollars to use this maglev system.
Magnetic levitation, also know as maglev or magnetic suspension, is the method by
which an object is suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. According to
Earnshaw’s theorem, it is impossible to stably levitate against gravity relying only on
static ferromagnetism. However, maglev technology overcomes this through a number
of means. In William Gibson’s novel Spook Country, maglev technology was also
featured in the form of a “maglev bed”, a bed which used magnets to stay suspended in
midair (Williams, 2011). In 1983, Roy Harrigan received a patent for a “levitation device”
that consisted of a small spinning magnet floating above a large base magnet, and Bill
Hones of Fascinations, Inc., later developed Harrigan’s idea into a successful commercial
product called the Levitron. As with the rotor of the electric meter, the spinning magnet
of the Levitron was pushed upward by the repulsion forces between like poles
(Yaghoubi, 2013). Based on the information above, the proponents opted to fabricate a
device that included magnetic levitation which provides more stable effect and high
durability.
