I feel like I need a
school bus (of the magical variety) and a lizard. So I checked into the idea of magnetic "hot spots" on the earth, and found some interesting stuff. While I don't have anything specific right now about the actual places that may be
considered hot, I will take your mind on a fantastic voyage to the cause of our magnetism.
Our planet's wonderful magnetic field (which protects us from solar death rays and cosmic radiation) is generated in the earth's iron core by something called the
dynamo effect. Basically, the swirling, boiling seas of liquid
magggggma iron in the center of the earth can create a giant magnetic field... sort of like an electro-magnet, where the magnet produces its own power that makes it a magnet which produces power. Yeah, it's confusing alright, even the author of that article doesn't go into it that much!
Anyway, those seas of iron are just like our big blue oceans up top. They even get molten iron hurricanes (minus the wind and water, and levees of course) that can create their own little magnetic fields. Much like sunspots, these can create "anomalies." But as long as you press the button every
108 minutes, you'll be fine. Too bad the magnetic hot spots would
move around quite a bit.
[Pardon me if I misstated the scientific stuff, I'm doing my best! For the best info, if you can understand it, check out my links above.]
From what I did gather, lobsters have a 6th magnetic sense that allows them to navigate through treacherous coral reefs in the dark of night. I too, have a magnetic sense that allows me to navigate my knees, shins, and toes into metal objects in the dark of night, but that is another topic altogether. In the experiment, the UNC team was able to control the direction of lobsters by manipulating magnetic fields in the area.
