Missing data on Earth's magnetic field is in the oven
Sunday, December 9, 2012 - 14:00
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org)—A New Zealand research team hopes to retrieve missing parts of a puzzle about the Earth's magnetic field and changes to it over time. Grabbing their attention are the stones that line Maori steam ovens. They want to learn more about how those ovens may give them missing data about the magnetic field. The idea is that the cooking process generates so much heat that the magnetic minerals in these stones will realign themselves with the current field direction. Examining the stones may explain more about the Earth's magnetic behavior. The archaeological search in New Zealand is out to find sites containing the old "hangi" ovens.