De Magnete

De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure (On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies, and on That Great Magnet the Earth) is a scientific work published in 1600 by the English physician and scientist William Gilbert. A highly influential and successful book, it exerted an immediate influence on many contemporary writers, including Francis Godwin and Mark Ridley. Contents In De Magnete, Gilbert described many of his experiments with his model Earth called the terrella. Gilbert made the claim that gravity was due to the same force and he believed that this held the Moon in orbit around the Earth. The work then considered static electricity produced by amber. Amber is called elektron in Greek, and electrum in Latin, so Gilbert decided to refer to the phenomenon by the adjective electricus.