Blackett effect

Short description: Hypothetical mechanism

The Blackett effect, also called gravitational magnetism, is the hypothetical generation of a magnetic field by an uncharged, rotating body. This effect has not been observed.

## History

Gravitational magnetism was proposed by the Germany -United Kingdom physicist Arthur Schuster as an explanation for the magnetic field of the Earth, but was found nonexistent in a 1923 experiment by H. A. Wilson.[1][2] The hypothesis was revived by the United Kingdom physicist P. M. S. Blackett in 1947 when he proposed that a rotating body should generate a magnetic field proportional to its angular momentum.[3] This was never generally accepted, and by the 1950s even Blackett felt it had been refuted.[4], pp. 39-43

The Blackett effect was used by the science fiction writer James Blish in his series Cities in Flight (1955-1962) as the basis for his fictional stardrive, the spindizzy.[5]

## References

1. ↑ A Critical Examination of the Possible Causes of Terrestrial Magnetism, A. Schuster, Proceedings of the Physical Society of London 24 (1911-1912), pp. 121-137.
2. ↑ An Experiment on the Origin of the Earth's Magnetic Field, H. A. Wilson, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series A 104, #727 (November 1, 1923), pp. 451-455.
3. ↑ The magnetic field of massive rotating bodies, P. M. S. Blackett, Nature 159, #4046 (May 17, 1947), pp. 658-666.
4. ↑ Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett, Baron Blackett, of Chelsea, 18 November 1897-13 July 1974, Bernard Lovell, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 21 (November 1975), pp. 1-115.
5. ↑ Cities in Flight, James Blish. New York: Avon, 1982. ISBN:0-380-00998-6.

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