Interesting facts about compasses

Before the compass was created, various mountains, stars, the Sun served as landmarks for travelers, both by land and by sea. The most ancient navigators, due to the lack of a compass, did not even go far from the coast, as they were afraid to get lost in the sea. When it appeared, travelers were able to determine the direction even in cloudy weather or while on the high seas.

And today we decided to take a closer look at this amazing navigation tool. We have collected the most interesting facts about the compass in this article.

• 1. A compass is a navigation device that responds to the magnetism of the Earth and is used to determine the cardinal points. A moving magnetic needle always points north. This is a terribly simple device, but at the same time incredibly accurate. At the same time, it is also worth noting that it does not indicate the geographic pole, but the magnetic pole.

• 2. Scientists and historians do not know for certain when and by whom the principle of operation of magnetic compasses was discovered. But it is known that the earliest compasses appeared in China around 300-200 BC, during the reign of the Han Dynasty.

  The earliest compasses were a magnetized metal needle attached to a piece of wood (most often in the shape of a fish) and placed in a container of water. Since the needle was magnetized, its end (the head of the fish) always pointed north. These were the so-called "wet compasses".

  By the 11th century, the Chinese were already using not only "wet" but also "dry" compasses. "Dry" compasses were similar to "wet" ones, except that instead of fish in China, a turtle was used, and there was no water in the container with the arrow.

• 3. In Europe and the Middle East, these navigational tools began to appear only by the 1200s. Although it is very common in Europe that they created compasses themselves several centuries after the Chinese, many scientists and historians do not agree with this. It is most likely that the Chinese shared their navigational tool technology with the Muslims, who later shared this knowledge with the Europeans.

• 4. Compasses work very stable in areas close to the equator, as they are located far from the "magnetic field". As it gets closer to one of the Earth's magnetic poles, it becomes increasingly sensitive to the intersection of its magnetic field lines.

  At some point, near the magnetic pole, it will stop pointing in any particular direction and start drifting. In addition, the arrow will begin to move not only in a circle, but also up and down due to the so-called magnetic tilt. Cheap compasses can generally fail and stop working near the magnetic pole. Therefore, being at the North or South Pole, it is simply impossible to determine the direction using a compass.

• 5. The term "compass" was introduced only in the 15th century due to its round shape and central point, similar to the mathematical instrument used to draw circles.

• 6. Today it is used not only to determine the direction. For example, there are Feng Shui compasses, which are used in the Taoist practice of symbolic space exploration. Thanks to it, Feng Shui followers determine where windows and doors should be located in the house (entrance doors should usually face south to capture as much sunlight as possible).

  The Feng Shui compass is also used as an item to repel evil spirits and bring good luck. Therefore, in houses that are not designed in accordance with Feng Shui, it is recommended to place such a compass in one of the rooms.

• 7. Despite the fact that such technologies as GPS have appeared today, they cannot completely replace the compass. Yes, they are more accurate and allow you to find out not only the direction, but also to study the area, but they have a significant drawback - they are dependent on power sources. That is why, in the same aircraft, in addition to GPS, a magnetic compass (gyroinduction) is used.

  It is an improved version of the standard magnetic compass and is designed to measure gyromagnetic and true heading. Unlike a conventional navigational instrument, the gyroinduction instrument is designed in such a way that the metal structure of the aircraft does not affect its accuracy. It is a backup in case all other navigation systems fail. Ships have a similar device.

• 8. Many people underestimate the historical role of this amazing and simple navigational tool. But they do it in vain, because it was the compass that played an important role in many of the greatest discoveries of mankind. For example, the first crossing of the ocean or a trip around the world would be simply impossible without it.

• 9. The Fleur-de-lis is a symbol that the North is very often marked on the dial of this navigational device. The use of the fleur-de-lis as a mark of north was introduced by the Portuguese cartographer Pedro Reinel and soon became very common throughout the world.

• 10. During World War II, unique buttons appeared on the uniforms of British pilots. The uniform of the RAF (Royal Air Force), as a whole, remained standard and did not stand out on the form of uniforms of other countries of the world - with the exception of buttons. The fact is that the buttons on their uniforms were with a surprise. If you remove one button and connect it to another, then you get a real compass. Such buttons were sewn to the uniforms only of pilots and saboteurs, since it was they who most often found themselves behind enemy lines and needed navigation devices that could lead them to their people.

• 11. There is a special Muslim compass Qibla, indicating the direction to the city of Mecca from anywhere in the world. Qibla is a direction accurately established from anywhere in the world towards the sacred Kaaba in the city of Mecca in Arabia. Qibla is important in the construction of mosques and other Islamic places of worship, and also plays an important role in the daily life of Muslims, as it serves as a symbol of their spiritual unity, no matter where in the world they live.