Brief Historical Review about Magnetism: From the Ancient Greeks up the Beginning of the XXth Century

Magnetism is omnipresent in multiple natural and constructed phenomena we interact with daily. However, few students knew about the different explanations advanced relative to this mysterious magnetic force imperceptible by our senses before the advent of the discovery of the atomic and molecular aspects of matter. Unfortunately, the concepts associated with the study of magnetism presented in many textbooks do not consider the conceptual difficulties encountered by scientists and the false theories developed and abandoned following new experiments and theories. Towards the end of the 18th century, with the developments of classical physics, among others in mechanics, electrostatic, electricity, and measuring instruments, scientists pierced the secret of the magnet stone and the compass used in navigation for several centuries BC. On the other hand, the progress made in studying matter at the atomic scale at the beginning of the 20th century made it possible to explore the phenomenon of magnetism in greater depth and give it a quantum interpretation. It is impossible to present all the conceptual complexity concerning the development of magnetism in a few pages. Thus, we will limit to synthesizing the most discoveries related to magnetism from the ancient time, five centuries before Jesus Christ, to the beginning of the 20th century. Thus, we will mainly focus on the erroneous theories developed throughout history by renowned scientists and the conceptual difficulties related to the study of magnetism.