What are magnetic hills?

The magnetic hills, also known as gravitational hills, are a tourist attraction that can be found in many places, also in Spain, although perhaps the best known are Confusion Hill in California and Magnetic Hill in Canada.

It is said that on these types of hills, the force of gravity or even supernatural forces cause objects to travel down the slopes in the opposite direction, that is, if a ball is thrown down the hill, it will circulate up instead of rolling down. However, there is an explanation for this. based on an optical illusion as physicist Brock Weiss explains in statements to Discoveries and Breakthroughs in Sciencecollected by ScienceAlert.

«The embankment has a slope that gives the impression that you are going uphill»the physicist explained, so the object is really going down, “although your brain gives you the impression that it is going uphill”. Simply, the layout of the ground causes an optical illusion to occur, in such a way that the slope that is downhill it seems that it is uphill with respect to the rest of the landscape, though it’s not really like that.

magnetic hills

The key seems to be in the horizon, since if it is obscured in areas with hills, you cannot have an adequate reference point. It can also happen that the horizon looks clear, but it darkens the slope areas of the hill in relation to the rest of the landscape.

In the case of Spain, you can find hills of this type, specifically, in the one known as Cuesta Mágica del Moncayo or Crevillent, which is located in Alicante. This hill is clearly sloped downhill, at least to the eyes and brains of those who visit it. However, if you stay in the car, with the parking brake off, it will start to go up rather than down the supposed slope.

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Reference article: https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/5025033/0/colinas-magneticas-donde-se-encuentran-espana/