Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire discussion

Hermione said in the Goblet of Fire that electricity doesn't work well around Hogwarts because there's too much magic in the air. But ever wondered why ? The best possible explanation is that magic interferes with the electromagnetic field produced by electricity. But in that case, it should interfere with the brain's electromagnetic field too and people should be affected by it. But something like that doesn't happen. Otherwise, everyone would have been mind-f***ed. Then how come electricity doesn't work in Hogwarts ?
6 hours ago - 4 days left to answer.

I always thought that they never needed electricity, 'cause they have magic to do what electricity would.

This book is fantasy. Anyway the electromagnetic field would not affect he people, because the electricity they give of is not strong enough.

I guess it goes like this. Magic does interfere with electricity but I guess it means that it kinda blocks it, limiting the strength of magnetic field around, causing the appliances to go haywire due to suppressed voltage.

the first explanation is somewhat correct. however i guess the brains are not affected coz it is to weak to register a conspicuous e.m. field or ... the magic doesn't mess with e.m. fields produced by living organisms...anyways its fantasy don't need to rack ur brains on it! but a nice question nonetheless!

the first explanation is somewhat correct. however i guess the brains are not affected coz it is to weak to register a conspicuous e.m. field or ... the magic doesn't mess with e.m. fields produced by living organisms...anyways its fantasy don't need to rack ur brains on it! but a nice question nonetheless!

the first explanation is somewhat correct. however i guess the brains are not affected coz it is to weak to register a conspicuous e.m. field or ... the magic doesn't mess with e.m. fields produced by living organisms...anyways its fantasy don't need to rack ur brains on it! but a nice question nonetheless!

Because Professor Dumbledore doesn't need electricity, he has magic. He's awesome like that. :)

I think it's because of the anti-mapping charm on Hogwarts (mentioned briefly in the fifth book). It must also make Muggle satellites, etc. go haywire and not notice it. So all other electric things go nuts around it, that kind of thing.

Maggie wrote: "I think it's because of the anti-mapping charm on Hogwarts (mentioned briefly in the fifth book). It must also make Muggle satellites, etc. go haywire and not notice it. So all other electric thing..."
Please tell me more about how come satelites can go haywire. The anti-mapping charm simply makes it un-plottable.

If Hogwarts is unplottable, how does the Marauder's map work again?

I've always assumed that the Thaum's (see Terry Pratchett's Mort) needed to mess up electrical wiring via induction was just lower than those needed to mess up human neural pathways.

Stephen wrote: "If Hogwarts is unplottable, how does the Marauder's map work again?

I've always assumed that the Thaum's (see Terry Pratchett's Mort) needed to mess up electrical wiring via induction was just lo..."
Ya but Marauder's map is magical in the first place. When I said unplottable, I meant that neither a muggle nor any muggle technology can plot Hogwarts because of all those numerous spells and stuff.
And I didn't quit get you at your second point.

why would you spend money on electricity bills wen just a 'LUMOS' would do it !!

My comment was just teasing on both points. I was trying to be funny. Terry Pratchett wrote a series of books where he selas with the collision of magic and science and even features the Thaum a unit of magical energy. He treats it the same way we treat Volts, Amps, etc.

Stephen wrote: "My comment was just teasing on both points. I was trying to be funny. Terry Pratchett wrote a series of books where he selas with the collision of magic and science and even features the Thaum a un..."
Ok, I get you. And your point actually makes some sense. Thanks.

no need electricity in Hogwarts. magic will do anything. :) LUMOS

Gargs wrote: "Maggie wrote: "I think it's because of the anti-mapping charm on Hogwarts (mentioned briefly in the fifth book). It must also make Muggle satellites, etc. go haywire and not notice it. So all other..."

Okay, so I think since Google Earth has mapping satellites, and Hogwarts is unplottable, the satellites must go haywire or something when they try to plot the area around it. Or something like that. I could be wrong, but that's how I see it.

Because they have MAGIC. ^_^

Probably because the muggle-repelling charms around the castle also repels muggle devices? I don't know. Some headmaster once might have put an anti-electronics spell around Hogwarts that we don't here about? There are many possible answers to that question, and we may not know the real one. But there is one.

who needs electricity when you have perfectly amazing, eco friendly MAGIC? also if you had to choose between the two, who wouldn't choose magic?

My friend says that it gets explained in book 2 on Pottermore. Can't say anything. I'm not there yet.

Hermione explains that electronic devices go wonky with so much magic around.

As for Google satellites mapping the Earth, I expect the image would be of the crumbling old castle muggles see when they get too close.

Because of to much magic activity in the air so the electronics go haywire!!! (I sound like Hermione :P)

Nahhhhhh... I don't.

This actually a topic that finds itself into most magic and tech books. Dresden shorts out most electronics when doing magic, and Kate Daniels has trouble with tech when the magic is up. It doesn't really have to electromagnetic fields, it has to do with the power itself. If you plug up a device that uses 110 in Europe what happens, you overload it and probably the circuit that it's hooked up to. I think magic is like that, electronic devices can't handle the excess power and short out.

It was a good thing that the books were set in the early 1990's when technology wasn't as big of a part of everybody's existence as it is now. I don't think I, or anyone of this generation could write out every essay on nothing but pieces of parchment or research without the internet or survive a school semester with an IPod or Phone (at least I can't).

J.K. chose the right time period to base the story in because she was able to avoid trying to explain our generation's addiction to electronics and technology.

I'd like to think that if there were students at Hogwarts right now, they'd either have magical devices that resembled computers and music players etc. Or maybe some brainy Ravenclaw students figured out how to decode electronic devices so they can be used at Hogwarts. And maybe Muggle-borns might experience a surge in popularity as wizard find some muggle technologies an interesting new fad.....OKAAAAAYYYY I think I'm getting a little to deep int all of this theorizing :D

Anyway, this was a good question~ and I agree with what others said about magical interference, magical incompatibly to appliances etc. The books said something like - if Muggles were to come across Hogwarts all they could see were piles of rubble instead of a castle or something like that. So maybe the school is in a different dimension disconnected by the human world. Somewhere electronic waves cannot reach

A different dimension... that's actually a really cool idea.

I think magic and electricity interfere with each other. Also, I'm willing to bet they have some anti-electricity field to keep people from finding Hogwarts on GPS or radar, and they don't really need it.

I can see them using the Wizard computers from Wizards of Waverly Place... And all of that weird wand-phone technology, and WizNet and WizFace.... then they invite WizTech to the Triwizard Tournament, only with four champions, so Quadwizard, I guess.

M wrote: "I always thought that they never needed electricity, 'cause they have magic to do what electricity would."

I agree!Why bother with electricity if you have magic?

If you've noticed, they don't really use muggle things. Electricity is a muggle thing. Plus, why would they need it? Every thing we muggles need electricity for, wizards have a spell for. Example, if we need light, we turn a light on. If they need light, the use their wands and say "lumos". Or, the use candles.

Electricity doesn't work at Hogwarts because it would interfere with the plot. That's why they don't have cellphones and the Internet and all the modern magic we take for granted.

Isabelle wrote: "I agree!Why bother with electricity if you have magic?"

It's more like why bother with magic when you have electricity. Except for a few things like Apparition or Invisibility Cloaks, pretty much anything that can be done with magic in the Harry Potter books can be done with modern technology - sometimes even better. The trio spend months trying to research Nicholas Flamel in the Hogwarts library. A modern Muggle could Google that in a couple of seconds. Ditto for finding out what a horcrux is, and how to destroy it.

Nichola wrote: "Electricity doesn't work at Hogwarts because it would interfere with the plot. That's why they don't have cellphones and the Internet and all the modern magic we take for granted."

As Arthur C. Clarke said, 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' Modern technology is in fact as good as if not better than magic in many ways. It had to be left out of the plot, or else there wouldn't be much point in using magic.

Well, I always thought, it's a castle, which hasn't been modified much. It wouldn't have electrical outlets, which without those, most electronic devices wouldn't work at all, or for only a little while.

It's all to give it that authentic, fantasy feel that makes it magical. You have to admit that candles and torches do that better than energy-efficient light bulbs. All about ambiance!

My theory about the satellites going "haywire" when it's trying to find Hogwarts is a bit different.
Hogwarts is un-plottable with a charm that works on Muggles and their technology. For example, at the Quidditch World Cup, when Muggles get near the stadium they would forget why they're there or remember an important meeting. I think that the charm makes the whole area look vacant (or in Hogwarts' case, just a broken and abandoned castle) to both Muggles and their technologies.
Just a theory but it makes sense to me.

Electricity? I can accept they don't use that because of magical interference or whatever but what I've always wondered is why they can't use normal pens? I mean really, have you ever used a quill and ink? I'll tell you it is annoying as hell, so why can't they use a normal pen?

In Hogwarts, there is no need for electricity because wizards and witches can just use magic. To them, electricity is just a silly Muggle replacement for "lumos".
That is just my opinion.

well you need resident proof for electric connection and howarts kinda don't have any (hidden from muggle and muggle make electricity)

if Hogwarts were in India then they could have used "KUNDI"

In book 4, Hermione explains why:

Electronic devices go haywire around magic. They don't work. They freak out and break.

Because of this, the wizarding world revolves completely NOT around electronics or digital tech.

Thus, no one has, wants, or needs electronic or digital devices at Hogwarts.

Thus, no one sets up routers and there would be no signal anyway.

Nichola wrote: "Electricity doesn't work at Hogwarts because it would interfere with the plot. That's why they don't have cellphones and the Internet and all the modern magic we take for granted."

Nope. It's explained in Goblet of Fire (magic interferes with electronics).

Also, they don't have cellphones, the Internet, etc. because the books take place in 1991 through 1997 (Harry was born in 1980).

The internet was in its infancy during most of those years (dial up connections, very few graphics), the days of AOL and Usenet. Cell phones were relatively large and clunky, and rare. Cell phones didn't become widespread until 2001-2002ish.

I spent most of those years in high school and my first year of college - in the latter, my school was among the first few in the state to get T1 ethernet lines (DSL and WiFi didn't exist) and no one had a cell phone.

Gargs wrote: "Hermione said in the Goblet of Fire that electricity doesn't work well around Hogwarts because there's too much magic in the air. But ever wondered why ? The best possible explanation is that magic..."<
That is such a great point. I agree!

Personally, I prefer an explanation found in a fanfic I read a while back. Electricity doesn't work well around Hogwarts because a former Headmaster added wards to mess with it, back in the late 1800s when it was a coming thing. He considered it dangerous and something Wizards didn't need to muck about with, and making it not work was easier than persuading people to his point of view. So now everyone "knows" that magic and electricity are incompatible.

But if that was true, explain how Diagon Alley exists without completely screwing up the grid in a chunk of London? How can #12 Grimmauld Place not at least disrupt the power in the houses to either side? You've got to figure the power needed to disguise a magical area in such a densely populated area would be as much or more than is used to power the wards at Hogwarts. (Okay, maybe not for #12, but surely for Diagon!)

they do not need electricity because they have magic and besides you can not say you understand every single thing in the book series. It is a fictional book series it is not supposed to make complete sense. Look up on youtube harry potter in 99 seconds gacha life.

M wrote: "I always thought that they never needed electricity, 'cause they have magic to do what electricity would."

Yeah, people would go on to complain when Onward's world got electricity and went normal. I like the idea that here and say in Amphibia with the light-up mushrooms that these otherwordly people are doing their own thing