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Geophysics
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Geophysics applies the principles and methods of physics to the study of the Earth, covering its magnetic field, gravity, internal heat, and the seismic waves generated by earthquakes.
Facts
Founded YearCarl Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Weber founded the Gottinger Magnetischer Verein in 1836 with Alexander von Humboldt's support, coordinating the first systematic worldwide measurements of Earth's magnetic field from up to fifty-three observatories, an early landmark of organized geophysical research. Central QuestionWhat do the physical fields measurable at Earth's surface, gravity, magnetism, seismic waves, reveal about the composition and dynamics of a planetary interior no instrument can directly reach? 2 ScopeGeophysics applies the methods and quantitative techniques of physics to study the Earth, including its gravitational, magnetic, electrical and seismic fields, its internal structure, and near-Earth space. 2 SignificanceCarl Friedrich Gauss's 1830s mathematical treatment of the Earth's magnetic field, including the invention of the magnetometer to measure it with precision, gave geophysics one of its first rigorously quantitative branches, geomagnetism, decades before seismology or gravimetry matured to the same standard. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Encompasses
Founded By
Founder of the geomagnetism branch specifically, not of geophysics as a whole, which also includes seismology, gravimetry and other later branches.
Has Scientist
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Part Of
Uses
Magnetometers are widely used for measuring the Earth's magnetic field in geophysical surveys.
Sources
1. Gottinger Magnetischer Verein (Wiechert Seismological Observatory Gottingen)
Wiechert'sche Erdbebenwarte GottingenGauss house and earth magnetism sectionQuote, Gauss house and earth magnetism section
Gauss, with the support of Alexander von Humboldt, founded the Gottingen Magnetic Society, the center of which was the Earth Magnetic Observatory from 1836 to 1941.
2. Geophysics (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
Geophysics is a physical science concerned with the processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, studied using quantitative and observational methods. It focuses primarily on Earth's shape and its gravitational, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields.
2. Geophysics (Wikipedia)
Geophysics (Britannica)
Magnetosphere (Wikipedia)
Harry Hess (Britannica)
Harry Hess (Britannica)
John Milne (Britannica)
Magnetometer (Wikipedia)
Magnetometer (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUses: Magnetometer, Applications sectionQuote, Uses: Magnetometer, Applications section
Magnetometers are widely used for measuring the Earth's magnetic field, in geophysical surveys, to detect magnetic anomalies of various types.
James Van Allen (Wikipedia)
What Is Geophysics? (EarthScope Consortium)
EarthScope ConsortiumEncompasses: Seismology, What is geophysics? pageQuote, Encompasses: Seismology, What is geophysics? page
This means that geophysics is a broad field with many applications and subdisciplines. Two large disciplines with long histories are seismology and geodesy.
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