Editing Electromagnetism (section)

===Ancient world===
Investigation into electromagnetic phenomena began about 5,000 years ago. There is evidence that the ancient [[History of China|Chinese]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meyer |first=Herbert |title=A History of Electricity and Magnetism |year=1972 |page=2 |language=en}}</ref> [[Mayan civilization|Mayan]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Learn |first=Joshua Rapp |title=Mesoamerican Sculptures Reveal Early Knowledge of Magnetism |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mesoamerican-sculptures-reveal-early-knowledge-magnetism-180972820/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207191246/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mesoamerican-sculptures-reveal-early-knowledge-magnetism-180972820/ |url-status=live }} Summary of paper by Fu et al.</ref><ref name="Fu-2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Fu |first1=Roger R. |last2=Kirschvink |first2=Joseph L. |last3=Carter |first3=Nicholas |last4=Mazariegos |first4=Oswaldo Chinchilla |last5=Chigna |first5=Gustavo |last6=Gupta |first6=Garima |last7=Grappone |first7=Michael |date=2019-06-01 |title=Knowledge of magnetism in ancient Mesoamerica: Precision measurements of the potbelly sculptures from Monte Alto, Guatemala |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440318305776 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |volume=106 |pages=29–36 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2019.03.001 |bibcode=2019JArSc.106...29F |issn=0305-4403}}</ref> and potentially even [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] civilizations knew that the naturally magnetic mineral [[magnetite]] had attractive properties, and many incorporated it into their art and architecture.<ref>{{Citation |last1=du Trémolet de Lacheisserie |first1=É. |title=Magnetism, from the Dawn of Civilization to Today |date=2002 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-23062-7_1 |work=Magnetism |pages=3–18 |editor-last=du Trémolet de Lacheisserie |editor-first=É. |place=New York, NY |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-23062-7_1 |isbn=978-0-387-23062-7 |access-date=2022-12-07 |last2=Gignoux |first2=D. |last3=Schlenker |first3=M. |editor2-last=Gignoux |editor2-first=D. |editor3-last=Schlenker |editor3-first=M. |archive-date=2024-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003193840/https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-0-387-23062-7_1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ancient people were also aware of [[lightning]] and [[static electricity]], although they had no idea of the mechanisms behind these phenomena. The [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] philosopher [[Thales of Miletus]] discovered around 600 B.C.E. that [[amber]] could acquire an electric charge when it was rubbed with cloth, which allowed it to pick up light objects such as pieces of straw. Thales also experimented with the ability of magnetic rocks to attract one other, and hypothesized that this phenomenon might be connected to the attractive power of amber, foreshadowing the deep connections between electricity and magnetism that would be discovered over 2,000 years later. Despite all this investigation, ancient civilizations had no understanding of the mathematical basis of electromagnetism, and often analyzed its impacts through the lens of [[religion]] rather than science (lightning, for instance, was considered to be a creation of the gods in many cultures).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meyer |first=Herbert |title=A History of Electricity and Magnetism |year=1972 |pages=3–4 |language=en}}</ref>