Etheric Theory of Electromagnetism

The phenomenon of electromagnetism tends to be discovered far quicker when people grow up surrounded by it. However, being aware of it is not the same as understanding it; the scholars of the city have come up with a somewhat inaccurate explanation for it, which mirrors similar misunderstandings in our own world.

Empirically speaking, this theory is completely accurate; it describes and explains the behaviour which they observe. The science behind it is alas quite wrong, even if some of the concepts are along the right lines. The scholars of the city fail to appreciate the concept of energy as energy; instead they consider it to be a sort of magical fluid which flows through all magnetic substances. Rather than the flow of electrons, they believe motion of this fluid is what compels bodies to attraction or repulsion. Since they only recognise magnetism as a result of electricity, the theory does not concern itself with what happens with static lodestones (i.e. the normal magnetism)– they’re still trying to figure that out.

They believe that lodestones contain an abundance of this fluid, and that it is set in motion by the application of energy by the craftsman. Some consider the lodestones to be constructed out of a frozen or solidified version of the fluid, which they have tested with molten lodestones. These lodestones do have a magnetic field but are clearly nothing like lightning, so this theory is generally discredited.

It follows that lightning storms are, to them, little more than a special occurrence of rain, similar to hail. In fact this is how they explain thunder- as a natural result of etheric fluid hitting the ground at high velocity. It is theorised that conductors such as iron contain microscopic pathways which allow the fluid to pass through and make it an electromagnet. These have never been observed (since they don’t exist and wouldn’t be perceptible even if they did) but it is postulated that the layout of these pathways are what define magnetic fields of that substance. Based on that, they have drawn diagrams of these pathways; the substances for which they have performed experiments look mostly like the magnetic field lines for a bar magnet; a series of ‘half ovals’ on either side.

This belief was first formulated by Archimedes; since then it has developed greatly, becoming more accurate but also taking on new imperfections. The initial formulation of the etheric theory defined the aether as a divine substance, somewhat like the Greek Ichor. This is a theory which was improved on quickly, when it was postulated that it was only created by organic/biological processes. The bioelectric experiment was actually an attempt to test this theory, which famously proved that it could be produced biologically.

The formation and precise composition of the ether is currently a matter of heated scientific debate. The Faraday Generator began as some bored scientist playing around with the effects of lodestone on iron. Since the publication of the invention (as a journal with rudimentary mathematics and diagrams), it has advanced the theory significantly. The discovery that the ether could be generated through magnets established that electricity is not divine or solely natural, but can, as a form of energy, be channelled and created mechanically.