Robert Norman
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Robert Norman was a 16th century British mariner, compass builder, and hydrographer.
He is noted for his London publication in 1581 of The Newe Attractive, a pamphlet discussing the lodestone or magnet, as well as practical aspects of navigation. More importantly it included his discovery of the "magnetic dip", which caused the needle of a compass to incline at an angle from the horizon. This was caused by the magnetic field of the Earth not running parallel to the surface.
Norman demonstrated this phenomenon by creating a compass needle that pivoted on a horizontal axis. This needle then tilted at a steep angle relative to the horizon line. Knowledge of magnetic inclination and local variations was known before Norman's publication, but his work had a more significant impact and gave the knowledge greater depth.
Norman crater on the Moon has been named in his honor.
[edit] Further reading
- Rom Harré, "Greatest scientific discoveries". Phaidon, Oxford. ISBN 0-7148-2096-2
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