Thousands of miles above the atmosphere, a gigantic sculpture surrounds our planet. The sculpture is not solid, but is made of electrically-charged, sub-atomic particles — bits and pieces of busted-up atoms. Magnetize an iron needle and hang it by a thread to make a compass. The needle swings to point, roughly, north/south. The needle seeks, not Earth’s geographic poles — true north and south — but her magnetic poles. The magnetized needle aligns with Earth’s magnetic field. Rub a stick-pen briskly through your very dry hair, then move the pen just over your arm, without touching a hair. Rubbing the …