If you are still wondering about what is a metal detector? It is a device that responds to a metal hidden under the ground or at any place which is not easily visible.

Metal detectors are getting more popular every day.  Once hard to find device are easily available online and offline. Talking about online, there are many websites selling this gadget. Why is it that a metal detector gained so much reputation in recent times? There must be something on it that has caused such an influence.  Its name plainly suggests that it deals with detection and it detects a metal, the common metal people knew about. 

The idea of a metal detector started at the end of the 19th century.  Scientists had a desire to create something that can pinpoint a metal. The reason why they were eager to invent such is, to make a big step in the area of mining; by using a detector, it would have been easier for a miner to find ore-bearing rocks. The scientist Alexander Graham Bell tried to use such a device to locate a bullet in the body of U.S. President James Garfield. It was not successful because the coil in the president’s bed confused the detector.

It is without a doubt that a metal detector has become a household name; however, only a few would dare to say that they understood how metal detectors work. In general, a metal detector is based on a fundamental principle that an electric current would pass through a channel that looks like a loop; when this happens, a magnetic field is produced. When a detector pass  an object or would get near a metal, the magnetic field produced will have a change in its movement, the later will become a signal when the gadget has detected something that is generally out of view.

Metal detectors are fun to use; in fact, many purchased it just to use it over the weekend and to enjoy pleasure of collecting relics from underground. Using a metal detector is not as easy as breathing; it has restrictions attached to it. In the United States for instance, other states allow it without any limitation, but in Minnesota it is completely prohibited. 

There is one law prevalent across the states and is imposed by federal law. It states that metal detectors are banned in federal parks that include monuments of great men and historical sites.
However you still have plenty of places to search for. With little patience and support from people with similar interests, you can definitely make a living out of this hobby.