Marine Magnetic Compass adjustment:Molecular theory of magnetism;

Of course. This is an excellent question because the “Molecular Theory of Magnetism” is the fundamental principle that explains why a ship becomes a magnet and, therefore, why a magnetic compass needs adjustment in the first place.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the theory and its direct application to marine compass adjustment.

Part 1: The Molecular Theory of Magnetism (The “Why”)

At its core, the theory states that all matter is composed of atoms, which have electrons orbiting a nucleus. This movement of electrons creates a tiny, microscopic magnetic field, essentially turning each atom (or small groups of atoms called domains) into a miniature magnet with a north and south pole.

1. Unmagnetized Material

• In a normal, unmagnetized piece of ferromagnetic material (like the steel used to build a ship), these molecular magnets or “domains” are arranged in a completely random, chaotic order.
• They all point in different directions. For every tiny magnet pointing north, there’s another pointing south, east, west, up, or down.
• Result: The individual magnetic fields cancel each other out. The piece of steel, as a whole, has no net external magnetic field.