The invention of compass He was one of those who changed the world. Not many details of the exact moment are known, but it is believed that it was in the China imperial where they noticed the properties of the magnetita. They observed that a small magnetized iron object, given complete freedom of movement, is placed approximately in the North-South direction, Following Earth’s magnetic field lines. It is still debated whether there was not a parallel and slightly later discovery in Europe, according to the Spanish historian, corresponding academician of the Royal Academy of History, Agustín Rodríguez González.
Returning to its function, the compass detects the natural magnetic fields of the Earth and that makes the needle react better to nearby magnetic fields. Because opposites attract, the needle’s south pole is attracted to the Earth’s natural magnetic north pole. This is how navigators are able to discern north: the compass always points north.
The compass is a guidance instrument that at all times indicates the position with respect to the terrestrial poles. Although today GPS is used more, it is essential that people who do outdoor activities at risk of getting lost know how it works. It is better not to depend on technology because it can fail.
The compass is still highly regarded in activities such as marine navigation and survival and orienteering courses, of course.
compass parts
To know how the compass works, we usually start by seeing what its parts are.
1. Motherboard it is the part on which the needle and limb are. It is usually made of transparent plastic to be able to rest it on the maps and move them easily.
2. The magnetic needle It is in the center of the base and is the one that rotates inside the casing. The red part indicates north and the opposite part, south.
3. The scroll or direction arrow. It is on the motherboard and is used to maintain a specific course. It is also a help not to invert the compass by mistake.
When using the compass, hold her tight and put the most parallel to the ground possible. Rotate the limb until the north-south lines are aligned with the magnetic arrow and heading north. The direction arrow will indicate the course you are heading. If it’s between south and east, it means you’re following a southeasterly direction. When you see the direction arrow intersect with the limb degrees, that number, 12, for example, tells you that you are looking 12 degrees southeast.
Magnetic North and True North: Declination
The call true north is the north axis of rotation of the Earth. It is the point where the lines of longitude on maps converge. For his part, the magnetic north it is the point on the Earth’s surface where its magnetic field points straight down. And both do not match. The difference between Magnetic North and True North is called decline.
Compasses mark where the earth’s magnetic north is, which is created by the convection currents that flow in your cast iron core. As we say, this magnetic north is not fixed but moves slowly, constantly and predictably, so the reference can be adjusted and the geographic or true north can be obtained, which is the one that corresponds to the imaginary axis on which the earth rotates. .
Some types of compass already come with a correction scale to set the compass to the local magnetic declination. Just turn a small screw on the back of the limbo to compensate for declination changes.
If this is not the case with your compass and you know your location, you can use the map and compass. To do this, it is necessary to take a distant reference with the compass and then take the same reference on the map and proceed to adjust the difference.
Another method would be to adjust the compass with reference to the Polar Star, which always points to true north.
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