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100. Nature Live, Bogdan Ogrizović Library and Reading Room, Zagreb, March 7, 2019. Magnetism – from miracles to explanations and technology SUMMARY The earliest knowledge about the unusual properties of magnetite (that it attracts pieces of iron) and amber (that it attracts pieces of papyrus when rubbed with cloth) dates back to ancient times. The first discovery of the practical use of magnetite was the compass, the first records of which in Europe date back to the end of the 12th century. A century later, the first scientific research on magnetite began. In 1600, the English physician William Gilbert published the work De Magnete, in which he presented all the previously known knowledge about magnetism. However, it took more than two centuries for the Danish physicist Oersted, in 1820, to discover that electric current creates a magnetic field, which taught people how to generate a magnetic field in a controlled manner. This was followed by a series of discoveries related to the nature of magnetism and its use, as well as the structure of matter. The culmination of this process was the development of quantum physics and the final explanation of the nature of magnetism in the 1930s. Without technologies based on magnetic materials, today's world would look unrecognizable different. ABOUT THE LECTURER Dr. sc. Đuro Drobac was born in 1954 in Konavle. He graduated in experimental physics from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. Since 1981, he has been working at the Institute of Physics, today with the title of senior research associate. He studies the magnetic properties of matter, and his specialty is the development and construction of highly sensitive devices for measuring magnetic quantities using inductive methods. He devotes part of his activities to the popularization of physics.