magnetic needle

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Finding the magnetoreceptors responsible for triggering these neurons has been like looking for a magnetic needle in a haystack.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 23, 2016

Last week Bendix Aviation Corp. announced a new automatic compass that makes the old magnetic needle* look as obsolete as a warrior's spear.

From Time Magazine Archive

He said: "Nothing must deflect the magnetic needle."

From Time Magazine Archive

When Oersted's discovery was made known men began to think of signalling to a distance by means of the action of an electric current on a magnetic needle.

From The Story of Great Inventions by Burns, Elmer Ellsworth

If a small magnetic needle, suspended by a thread, be held near a magnet, it will point in some fixed direction depending on the proximity of the poles of the magnet.

From Hawkins Electrical Guide, Number One Questions, Answers, & Illustrations, A Progressive Course of Study for Engineers, Electricians, Students and Those Desiring to acquire a Working Knowledge of Electricity and its Applications by Hawkins, Nehemiah