Magnets: How Do They (Not) Work?

About this episode

The episode explores the physics of magnetism and critiques the claims made by Ancient Aliens regarding the standing stones at Carnac.

Ancient Aliens claims the 3,000 standing stones at Carnac in Brittany are quartz-rich geomagnetic batteries that beam GPS signals to extraterrestrials. In this episode, Tristan takes us deeper into the actual physics of magnetism than this podcast has possibly ever gone, and it turns out the Earth's magnetic field is so weak your fridge magnets are millions of times more powerful, quartz can't hold a charge any more than your aluminum can, and granite is about as conductive as a floor tile. We also untangle why a Pythagorean triangle at a site with 3,000 rocks is statistically inevitable, and why the real question isn't "what did Carnac do" but why Ancient Aliens can't accept that sometimes people just build things to feel something. Plus: the MRI machine that can never be turned off, the case for a really long cable to space, and a branded non-alcoholic IPA we desperately need someone to make for us. Get new episodes early and support the show on  Patreon  and  Nebula! Subscribe  to  It's Probably (not) Aliens  for weekly episodes about cool ancient history! And give us a  5-star review  if you have the time. It really helps us out…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tristan Johnson, Scott Niswander

Topics covered

• magnetism
• ancient history
• physics
• extraterrestrials
• statistical analysis

Keywords

• magnetism
• Carnac
• Ancient Aliens
• quartz
• Earth's magnetic field
• Pythagorean triangle
• MRI machine
• non-alcoholic IPA

Mentioned in this episode

Products: MRI machine, non-alcoholic IPA

Books & works: Ancient Aliens

Places: Carnac, Brittany, Earth, France

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