Well, we all know that Lost features the idea of "electromagnetism" prominently. The only problem is that this is in danger of becoming an all-encompassing explanation for anything mysterious happening. "Why did X happen?" - "electromagnetism, of course". I think we need to clarify exactly what this idea is.
An Electromagnetic field is one that exerts a force on particles with an electric charge. This field is caused by electromagnetic induction (a law discovered by Faraday). To basically explain induction, imagine a coil of wire. If you pass a magnet through it, this will generate an electromotive force, drawing current with it. "Current" is the term for the flow of electric charge - the basic idea of electricity.
Well, it's good to clear things up with a Science lesson. The question which arises from this is: what does this all mean in terms of the island? I'm afraid we're going to have to dive back into science again to explain this one.
Take everyone's favourite molecule - water.
As you can see, the two hydrogens are arranged to one side of the molecule while the oxygen is on the other. This creates an interesting effect - oxygen having a slight negative charge and hydrogen a slight positive charge. The water molecule is in fact polar - it has a positive and negative end, a North and a South, which generates the phenomenon we call "surface tension" - water molecules stick to eachother.
While fascinating, this may not seem entirely relevant. But believe me, I'm going somewhere with this. We do not often think of water as a polar material - it's generally thought of as... just water. Apply a similar idea to rock - when was the last time you saw a rock with magnetic attraction? Admittedly, water is not magnetic as it has no field, but its molecular makeup gives it an unusual polar characteristic and that is my point.
There is indeed a type of rock which generates a magnetic field - lodestone. If you put iron filings near this rock, they will be attracted! In fact, this could be used as a basic form of compass.
Perhaps you can see my ideas all falling into place now. Lost's island could well be of volcanic origin (due to the fact that there is a volcanic crater on the island) and so my theory is that the island is built upon an igneous rock, similar to lodestone, which has unique magnetic properties. And if this makes the island itself just a huge magnet, then all we're missing is a huge coiled metal wire and we've got ourselves one giant Faraday Magnetic Field Inducer.
Here ends part 1 of the "What is the island?" series.
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