Info please

[Airborne01]

I know it's possible to magnetise steel blocks by wrapping them with wire and running an electrical current through the wire. I don't know what sort - AC or DC - or what strength of current you'd need to get a decent magnetic strength in your blocks (there's bound to be a website that would help you with that - obviously no good if you need tens of thousands of turns of wire and forty eleven zillion amps), but if your blocks were magnetised Jim, you ought to be able to use them for the purpose intended?

It is possible to magnetise steel without the use of electrickery (albeit on a very small scale!); as a survival tool we were taught to create a compass by stroking a needle in one direction (generally towards the point) with the back of a knife - the magnetised needle was then carefully placed on a small floating leaf and voila! Off into the wild blue yonder!
Steve

[Gern]

It is possible to magnetise steel without the use of electrickery (albeit on a very small scale!); as a survival tool we were taught to create a compass by stroking a needle in one direction (generally towards the point) with the back of a knife - the magnetised needle was then carefully placed on a small floating leaf and voila! Off into the wild blue yonder!
Steve

I've seen compass needles made like that but with the needle stuck through a piece of straw to make it float.

How did you know which end of the needle pointed North? Did moving the knife blade towards the point always make the point the North (or South) pole, or did it change?

Thinking about it, wouldn't you be able to work out which one it was if you knew the direction of the sunrise (or sunset)?

[Airborne01]

I've seen compass needles made like that but with the needle stuck through a piece of straw to make it float.

How did you know which end of the needle pointed North? Did moving the knife blade towards the point always make the point the North (or South) pole, or did it change?

Thinking about it, wouldn't you be able to work out which one it was if you knew the direction of the sunrise (or sunset)?

Pointy end is (magnetic) North if you've stroked the knife towards it! And it's not always possible to observe sunrise/set eg midday - appropriate hemispheres also have an effect! That's really just another tool in your survival armoury - like a bag of gob-stoppers :smiling: ! Knowledge is power!
Steve