Tumours and tectonics: magnets making a mark
The Naked Scientists Podcast
00:00
The Magnetic Properties of Ancient Rocks
Rocks are time capsules that can record and then hang on to information about where, how, and when they formed. The kind of information we are looking for in rocks is magnetic information. And the idea here is that rocks contain tiny grains of magnetic minerals. These are like little compasses that can be frozen in place where they form. So just like you can use a compass to find your way around on Earth when you're navigating outdoors, you can also use these little mineral compasses preserved inside rocks to look back in time at how those rocks moved around on the surface.
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