biography
| name: |
Gilbert, William
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| |
also Gylberde, William
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1544–1603)
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| biography:
| Physician and physicist, born in Colchester, Essex, SE England, UK. After a period at Cambridge, he was appointed physician to Elizabeth I. He established the magnetic nature of the Earth, and conjectured that terrestrial magnetism and electricity were two allied emanations of a single force. He was the first to use the terms electricity, electric force, and electric attraction. His book, De magnete (1600, On the Magnet) is the first major English book in science. The gilbert, unit of magnetomotive power, is named after him. |
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