Re: Magnetic Polarity Re: Magnetic quenching.

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net> 

" >      It was common in the older books to refer to the "north-seeking
 >pole"
of a compass needle, which is not ambiguous.
      Agreed.

  >  Of course, this is the south pole of the needle.
      Is it?
      Have you tested?
      My understanding and testing and reading indicate that the
      'n' end of a compass needle is defined as the North Seeking
      End, shortened to 'noth pole' which makes geographic
      NORTH a Magnetic SOUTH pole.  Counterintuitive.

	I'll think about that as you raise a good point.  I do know that I have
a couple of horseshoe kiddies magnets marked with N and S, and the north
end of a compass needle points to the "N" pole.

  >  I wonder if the original designation of north
  > came about because most navigation was done in the northern
hemisphere
  > where Polaris was commonly observed to indicate north?
      Likely.  At least nitially.  At least for Europeans."

Ed