My First Book of Electromagnetism

My First Book of Electromagnetism uses fascinating bite-size facts, clear and simple explanations, and attractive and absorbing illustrations to illuminate the mysteries of electricity and magnetism.

Nowadays, electricity and magnetism are all around us, and we use them for nearly everything. It’s hard to find anything that works without them. But what is electricity? What has it got to do with magnets? What is magnetism? And the most fascinating question of all is, what has all this got to do with light? All these questions are answered in this introduction to the fabulous world of electromagnetism.

My First Book of Electromagnetism tells the story of humankind’s growing understanding of the forces around us, from Thales of Miletus’s first experiments with magnetic attraction in 600 BCE to Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell unifying the fields of magnetism and electricity to developing the theory of electromagnetism. At various stages in this fascinating journey, the reader can learn how to do their own experiments, including making their own electroscope to test for electric charge and how to construct a working motor from safety pins, wire, sticky tape, a magnet, and a battery.