The Germans have always been inventors, poets and thinkers. Therefore a lot of important discoveries have been made by the Germans. The book print is one example for inventions made by German people. Albert Einstein is considered to be one of the most important scientists who ever lived and he was also German. There are many more examples for great inventors from Germany in the past and in the present. Until today Germanys most important export good is knowledge and thousands of new inventions are made every year.

Despite the dark past of the country Germany was able to build stable relationships to many other countries in the world. The country is trading goods with different countries on every single continent. Exports are made from especially the high-tech and car industry. Because of the lack of raw materials which can be found in Germany the country is importing raw materials from all over the world. Although there are raw materials in Germany it is too expensive to mine them.

Since 2005 Germany has the first female Bundeskanzler in its history. Angela Merkel is a member of the CDU party, one of the big parties in Germany. In 2009 Merkel was reelected but split the countries opinion. She tried to build a strong relationship to the US government and succeeded even before Obama was elected. Although Merkel is criticized by many people she made some significant changes in the country.

Germans are stereotyped as a bear drinking, sausage eating and lederhosen wearing people who are always on time and do not understand jokes. Some of these stereotypes might be true. Germans like to be on time in general for example. Other stereotypes are far to general to be true. Not every German man wears lederhosen, drinks bear and eats sausages.

The history of expeditions to the North Pole begins in the early 20^th century. In 1909 the first two men, Robert Edwin Peary and Matthew Henson, reached the geographic North Pole. The two American researchers are officially the first men to set foot on the North Pole but it could not be verified who was the first man to reach the North Pole. Also it is not scientifically backed up that the researchers reached the North Pole at all. Peary’s records are not accurate enough to verify the discovery moreover according to Henson’s memories he was the first to arrive at the North Pole and he claimed that he met Perry there. But none of this could ever be verified. Frederick Cook also claimed to have reached the North Pole. He said that he reached the pole one year before the two scientists but his claims turned out to be false when the discovery of Mount Mc Kinley from his side could not be verified.

In 1926 a group of scientists flew over the North Pole and in 1937 a group of Russian scientists flew to the pole and set foot on it. The first man to reach the North Pole by foot was Sir Wally Herbert in 1969. In 1958 a Russian nuclear-powered submarine reached the pole. It was the first ship to ever reach the North Pole. More and more countries started an expedition to the North Pole. In 2007 Russia claimed the North Pole to be on Russian territory because it would be part of Siberian continental shelf. But Denmark, Norway and Canada also have the right to raise territorial claims. It seems like the battle just began.

In 2007 two British TV reporters were the first man to reach the magnetic North Pole.

In the 16^th century William Gilbert, an Englishman, was the first to investigate the phenomenon of magnetism. He also discovered that the earth itself is a weak magnet. Carl Friedrich Gauss investigated Gilbert’s discovery after his death. In the 18^th century Frenchman Charles Coulomb established the inverse square law of force. The law states that the attractive force of two magnets is proportional to the product of their individual fields and inversely proportional to the distance between them. Hans Christian Oersted discovered a few years later the link between magnetism and electricity.

In the 19^th century the theoretical foundation of the physics of electromagnetism was built. The theoretical foundation states that electricity and magnetism are two aspects of the same fundamental force field. In the early 20^th century the Curies, which were husband and wife, and Pierre Weiss examined the effect of temperature on magnetic materials. They observed that magnetism suddenly disappears in materials like iron above a certain temperature. They explained this by using the theory that magnetism is based on an internal molecular field which is proportional to the average magnetization spontaneously aligning the electronic micro magnets in magnetic matter.

Today’s understanding of magnetism is based on the theories of the two German scientists Ernest Ising and Werner Heisenberg. Their theory is called quantum electrodynamics which is about the motion and interactions of electrons in the atom. Heisenberg was also one of the founders of the modern quantum mechanics. All these scientists gave the world the opportunity to fully understand and use magnetism.

The center of the city is the castle of Karlsruhe. There are 32 streets which radiate from the castle. Nearby the castle is the castle garden which is very beautiful and worth seeing. The castle was built between 1715 and 1718 and used to be the residence of the margraves until 1918. Today the castle is transformed into a museum.

The market place is today’s city center and by far the most popular place in town. The landmark of Karlsruhe is a pyramid which was built in 1823 and is located in the center of the market place. The city’s founders grave is located under the pyramid which was the location of a church where margrave Karl Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach was buried before. The city hall and a church are also located at the market place.

The old town of Durlach is located in the very east of Karlsruhe. Durlach is referred to as the mother of the city because the founder of the city lived here before he moved to Karlsruhe. Karl’s castle can be seen here. The small streets, the city wall and the old houses make Durlach a beautiful place to visit. Most of the tourists are fascinated by the old town and like to stay here for some time.

Karlsruhe is located on the river Rhein which is the most important and most frequently traveled waterway in Germany. The river meadows are a nice place to be during a hot summer day. Visiting Karlsruhe tourists walking along the river Rhein is something nobody should miss. Ships and boats can be seen and also many old towns and castles.

Magnets are used in microphones and speakers. Without these music artists would not be able to record their songs or to sing in front of a large crowd. The people in the back would not be able to hear the artist sing or play an instrument. Concerts would only be held in small spaces where not many people can fit in. Concerts in the park or in large stadiums would simply not be possible. As a result the ticket prices would be very high and not many people would even be able to afford the tickets.

Tapes, CDs and DVDs also use magnetism to work. Even records work through magnetism. Without it there would be no way of recording music on a device because hard drives of computers also work with magnets. Without CDs and tapes a singer would not be able to reach as many people as he does with them and he would be far less famous. The music industry would also not be able to merchandise the artists. People would not be able to buy a recording of the artist’s music and only T-shirts and other stuff could be sold.

All in all one could say that without magnetism there would be no music industry. But people love music, they always have and they always will. As a result there is a need for the music industry. People like to listen to their favorite artist on the radio and they like it even more then they can buy a CD or tape and listen to whenever they want to. Real fans will buy every single CD of an artist and if there is one also the DVD. Artists become very famous through selling their records and make a lot of money through this and merchandise.

Most of the people know that a compass uses the magnetic north pole to determine one’s current position. Compasses were used over hundreds of years and are still used today. When getting lost in the woods with no landmarks to orientate on a compass can be used to find the way out of the woods. Most of the explorers and adventurers use a compass to make sure they do not get lost. Of course in today’s life there are signs everywhere which lead the way to all kinds of places. But when staying in an area which not much people live in a compass can be very useful.

Another use of magnetism can be seen in tapes and discs. Video tapes, audio tapes, DVDs, CDs and other things all work because of magnetism. So one could say that without the discovery of magnetism people would not be able to listen to their favorite music or watch their favorite movie on disc or tape. Many people are not aware that these objects use magnetism to work and do not really care about this fact either. The only thing that matters to them is that the objects work the way they are supposed to.

Magnetism is also used in electric motors and generators. It also has another use in transportation: the maglev or magnetic levitation transport. It is mostly used in trains. Maglev uses electromagnetic force to guide vehicles, like trains. Many big cities already have a transportation system like that.

The use of magnetism in medicine is in MRI machines. MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. It is used to spot problems in patient’s organs without invasive surgery. All in all one can say that magnetism is used in many different ways in today’s society and without the discovery of magnetism life would not be the same.

Today people know that 95% of the magnetic field of the earth is caused by a dynamo effect. The earth’s core consists on the outside of liquid iron material and has a solid interior. This creates the so called dynamo effect and in extension the magnetic field. The magnetic field of the earth and the atmosphere offer an effective protection against harmful radiation from space, which consists of electrically charged particles.

A special geophysical phenomena, is the reversal of the geomagnetic field. The phenomena, is still not completely understood but took place in irregular intervals during the earth’s history. It is also expected to happen again in the future. The reversal of the geomagnetic field shows itself through small changes in magnetic properties. Scientist discovered that over the last 150 years the magnetic field’s strength steadily decreased. Satellite measurements over the last 20 years confirm the scientists’ discovery.

The analysis of the data material, collected from the satellites, suggest that the earth’s magnetic field will reverse again in 700-1000 years. This has already consequences for the planet. Through the weakened magnetic field dangerous radiation from space can not be stopped anymore. As a result more and more of the radiation strikes earth and will change the life on the planet. This can be seen today already when observing high-flying satellites in a region with a low magnetic field. 90% of the damage they suffer is caused by electrically charged particles from space.

The consequences of the reversal of the magnetic field of the earth are hard to predict. Especially dynamic processes lead to the sun to large magnetic storms. These magnetic storms can be seen as Northern Lights on earth. These phenomena disturb technical facilities on earth, such as telecommunication. An international initiative is trying to predict “space weather” using the knowledge of the earth’s magnetic field.