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From Wikiwand: Maxwell (unit):

This practical unit was previously called a line,[4] reflecting Faraday's conception of the magnetic field as curved lines of magnetic force,[5] which he designated as line of magnetic induction.[4] Kiloline ($10^3$ line) and megaline ($10^6$ line) were sometimes used because 1 line was very small relative to the phenomena that it was used to measure.

So how is a “line” measured? Does anyone have specifics on this measurement?

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  • $\begingroup$ Please include a link to the material you're quoting. $\endgroup$
    – The Photon
    Commented Nov 2, 2019 at 19:21

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This is a unit of magnetic flux. As Wikipedia explains,

Magnetic flux is usually measured with a fluxmeter, which contains measuring coils and electronics, that evaluates the change of voltage in the measuring coils to calculate the measurement of magnetic flux.

In other words, Faraday’s law of induction provides a practical way to measure magnetic flux.

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  • $\begingroup$ Now we are dependent on an instrument, which may vary as well. $\endgroup$
    – Nick
    Commented Nov 2, 2019 at 21:29
  • $\begingroup$ Well, that’s experimental physics. Measurements tend to involve measuring instruments. It’s fairly rare to be able to measure something “directly”, say with a simple meter stick or a stopwatch. You can only observe a magnetic field through its effects, such as how it deflects a moving charged particle, or arranges iron filings, or induces a current to flow in a moving wire, or exerts a force on another magnet. The induction approach is fairly clean and simple. For example, you can use a small loop of wire to measure the flux over a small area. $\endgroup$
    – G. Smith
    Commented Nov 2, 2019 at 21:50
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. I'm questioning what a "line" was as Wiki's Maxwell page indicates and Maxwell was previously called a line, based upon Farady's conception. I noticed the maxwell = 1 gauss * cm^2. .6 gauss is earth magnetic field at the surface. So perhaps a "line" is related to these measurements? $\endgroup$
    – Nick
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 20:45
  • $\begingroup$ Sorry, I don’t understand what you are confused about. $1\text{ line} =1\text{ maxwell} = 1\text{ gauss}\cdot\text{cm}^2$. It is the magnetic flux of a magnetic field with strength 1 gauss through a surface with area of 1 square centimeter. $\endgroup$
    – G. Smith
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 20:49
  • $\begingroup$ I'm questioning the measurement of 1 gauss. Does one take a magnetic material and place it in the path of cm^2 of area and if it turns towards the magnetic north pole this is ~.6 gauss? Then there is a linear scale developed from there? $\endgroup$
    – Nick
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 22:25

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