Although magnets and magnetism were studied much earlier, the research of magnetic fields began in 1269 when French scholar Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt mapped out the magnetic field on the surface of a spherical magnet using iron needles.
Kuigi magnetid ja magnetism olid teada juba varem, hakkas selle põhjalikum uurimine aastal 1269, kui Prantsuse teadlane Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt kaardistas magnetvälja sfäärilise magneti pinnal kasutades raudnõelu .