Compass

A compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the

Earth's magnetic poles. It consists of a magnetized pointer (usually marked on the North
end) free to align itself withEarth's magnetic field. The compass greatly improved the
safety and efficiency of travel, especially ocean travel. A compass can be used to
calculate heading, used with a sextant to calculatelatitude, and with a marine
chronometer to calculate longitude. It thus provides a much
improvednavigational capability that has only been recently supplanted by
modern devices such as theGlobal Positioning System (GPS). A compass is any
magnetically sensitive device capable of indicating the direction of the magnetic north of
a planet's magnetosphere. The face of the compass generally highlights the cardinal
points of north, south, east and west. Often, compasses are built as a stand alone
sealed instrument with a magnetized bar or needle turning freely upon apivot, or moving
in a fluid, thus able to point in a northerly and southerly direction. The compass was
invented in ancient China around 247 B.C., and was used for navigation by the 11th
century. The dry compass was invented in medievalEurope around 1300.[1] This was
supplanted in the early 20th century by the liquid-filled magnetic compass.[2]

Other, more accurate, devices have been invented for determining north that do not
depend on the Earth's magnetic field for operation (known in such cases as true north,
as opposed to magnetic north). A gyrocompass or astrocompass can be used to find
true north, while being unaffected by stray magnetic fields, nearby electrical power
circuits or nearby masses of ferrous metals. A recent development is the electronic
compass, or fibre optic gyrocompass, which detects the magnetic directions without
potentially fallible moving parts. This device frequently appears as an optional
subsystem built into GPS receivers. However, magnetic compasses remain popular,
especially in remote areas, as they are cheap, durable, and require no electrical power
supply.[3
Construction of a compass

Magnetic needle
A magnetic rod is required when constructing a compass. This can be created by
aligning an iron or steel rod with Earth's magnetic field and then tempering or striking it.
However, this method produces only a weak magnet so other methods are preferred.
For example, a magnetised rod can be created by repeatedly rubbing an iron rod with a
magnetic lodestone. This magnetised rod (or magnetic needle) is then placed on a low
friction surface to allow it to freely pivot to align itself with the magnetic field. It is then
labeled so the user can distinguish the north-pointing from the south-pointing end; in
modern convention the north end is typically marked in some way, often by being
painted red.
Needle-and-bowl device
If a needle is rubbed on a lodestone or other magnet, the needle becomes magnetized.
When it is inserted in a cork or piece of wood, and placed in a bowl of water it becomes
a compass. Such devices were universally used as compass until the invention of the
box-like compass with a 'dry' pivoting needle sometime around 1300.
Points of the compass
Main article: Boxing the compass

Originally, many compasses were marked only as to the direction of magnetic north, or
to the four cardinal points (north, south, east, west). Later, these were divided, in China
into 24, and in Europe into 32 equally spaced points around the compass card. For a
table of the thirty-two points, see compass points.

In the modern era, the 360-degree system took hold. This system is still in use today for
civilian navigators. The degree system spaces 360 equidistant points located clockwise
around the compass dial. In the 19th century some European nations adopted the
"grad" (also called grade or gon) system instead, where a right angle is 100 grads to
give a circle of 400 grads. Dividing grads into tenths to give a circle of 4000 decigrades
has also been used in armies.

Most military forces have adopted the French "millieme" system. This is an
approximation of a milli-radian (6283 per circle), in which the compass dial is spaced
into 6400 units (Sweden uses 6300 ) or "mils" for additional precision when measuring
angles, laying artillery, etc. The value to the military is that one angular mil subtends
approximately one metre at a distance of one kilometer. Imperial Russia used a system
derived by dividing the circumference of a circle into chords of the same length as the
radius. Each of these was divided into 100 spaces, giving a circle of 600. The Soviet
Union divided these into tenths to give a circle of 6000 units, usually translated as
"mils". This system was adopted by the former Warsaw Pact countries (Soviet
Union, GDR etc.), often counterclockwise (see picture of wrist compass). This is still in
use in Russia.
Compass balancing
Because the Earth's magnetic field's inclination and intensity vary at different latitudes,
compasses are often balanced during manufacture. Most manufacturers balance their
compass needles for one of five zones, ranging from zone 1, covering most of
the Northern Hemisphere, to zone 5 covering Australia and the southern oceans. This
balancing prevents excessive dipping of one end of the needle which can cause the
compass card to stick and give false readings
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