Magnetic compass

The magnetic compass is the most familiar compass type. It functions as a pointer to "magnetic
north", the local magnetic meridian, because the magnetized needle at its heart aligns itself with the
horizontal component of the Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic field exerts a torque on the
needle, pulling the North end or pole of the needle approximately toward the Earth's North
magnetic pole, and pulling the other toward the Earth's South magnetic pole.

History of the compass

The compass was invented more than 2,000 years ago. The first compasses were made of lodestone,
a naturally magnetized ore of iron, in Han dynasty China between 300 and 200 BC. The compass was
later used for navigation by the Song Dynasty. Later compasses were made of iron needles,
magnetized by striking them with a lodestone. Dry compasses begin appearing around 1300 in
Medieval Europe and the Islamic world. This was replaced in the early 20th century by the liquid-
filled magnetic compass. In Western Europe, the first reference to the use of lodestone dates from
the late 12th century, but in China the direction-finding properties of lodestone were known at least
1000 years earlier.

Uses of the Compass

A compass is an instrument used for navigation and orientation that shows direction relative to the
geographic cardinal directions (or points). Usually, a diagram called a compass rose shows the
directions north, south, east, and west on the compass face as abbreviated initials. When the
compass is used, the rose can be aligned with the corresponding geographic directions; for example,
the "N" mark on the rose really points northward. Compasses often display markings for angles in
degrees in addition to (or sometimes instead of) the rose.

Modern day Compass

Gone are the days when a ship navigation officer had to take help of unconventional ways to plan
and navigate a voyage at sea. Today, a ship officer has myriad of marine navigation equipment which
makes his life a lot simpler, thanks to the advancement in technology. The type of compass used on
a ship or aircraft is a complex electronic or mechanical device capable of compensating for both the
motion of the craft and its metallic structure

Compass in Ships

Gyro Compass

A Gyro compass is a form of gyroscope, used widely on ships employing an electrically powered,
fast-spinning gyroscope wheel and frictional forces among other factors utilising the basic physical
laws, influences of gravity and the Earth’s rotation to find the true north. Gyro compass has become
one indispensable instrument in almost all merchant ships or naval vessels for its ability to detect
the direction of true north and not the magnetic north. The Gyroscope in the Gyrocompass is
mounted in such a way so that it can move freely about three mutually perpendicular axes and is
controlled as to enable its axis of spin settled parallel with the true meridian, influenced by the
Earth’s rotation and gravity. Modern ships use a GPS system or other navigational aids feed data to
the Gyrocompass for correcting the error.

Compass in an Airplane

Magnetic Compass

The magnetic compass is the only instrument in the aircraft by which the pilot determines the
direction of flight. Magnets in the compass cause it to align with the Magnetic North Pole. It is nearly
always fitted on top of the visor that shades the instrument panel or is hung from the top of the
windshield frame in order to keep it as far away from electrical gear as possible.

The compass card has the four cardinal headings shown as N, E, S, and W. Numbers appear every 30
degrees. Long vertical marks occur in 10 degree increments, with intervening short marks at 5
degree points. The compass card containing the magnets are mounted on a small pivot point in the
centre of the card assembly. This allows the compass card to rotate and float freely. It is somewhat
like suspending a paper cup, upside down, on a pencil point located at the centre of the cup bottom.

The enclosure is filled with white kerosene to provide a medium to dampen out some vibration and
unwanted oscillations. A "lubber line" in etched on the glass face of the instrument to enable exact
reading of the compass.

Tools used earlier to navigate around before the GPS and Smart Phones

 Bond Chronometer. This timekeeper was the first American-made marine timekeeper taken
to sea.
 Bygrave Position-Line Slide Rule. Celestial navigation requires complicated computations.
Performing these calculations in cramped open cockpits with low temperatures and wind
speeds of over 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour was part of what made navigation
difficult in the early years of aviation.
 Ramsden Sextant. Navigating in the sea: this sextant was one of the navigation tools
invented in the 18th century by British mathematical instrument makers that permitted
mariners to find their position much better than ever before.
 Apollo Sextant and Scanning Telescope. Navigating in space: to determine position in space,
an Apollo astronaut located a specific star using a single-power, wide-field telescope and
then took a fix using a sextant.
 Dutch Pendulum Clock. In the 17th century, several inventors were trying to make an
accurate clock for finding longitude at sea.
 Longines Sidereal Second-Setting Watch. Before 1927, watches used with sextants for
celestial sightings could only be set to the minute.
 Lockheed Vega 5C Winnie Mae. Wiley Post's Winnie Mae circled the globe two times,
shattering previous records.
 Stanley Autonomous Vehicle. This autonomous vehicle, named Stanley, was developed by
the Stanford Racing Team. Stanley is a 2005 Volkswagen Touareg modified to navigate
without remote control and without a human driver in the seat.