Joszet Hudson age 9 of Richmond Va.
Who discovered the compass?
We do not know who invented the compass. Some say it was invented in China many hundreds of years ago. But there are no records of the very first compass or who made it. It was made with a magnet! as compasses are made today. It was so long ago that the first compass was made most likely from a natural magnets or lodestone as it was called.
We know for sure that the compass was in use 800 years ago. A floating compass was used by mariners off the coast of Europe in the Twelfth Century. This compass was made from a magnet out in the shape of an arrow. The arrow was at the north‑seeking pole of the compass needle.
This magnetic needle was kept afloat in a bowl of water. Naturally an iron magnet will not float by itself. It was suspended by a slender bar between two wooden floats. Often the wooden. floats were carved in ornamental designs. No matter where you move this compass bowl the magnetic needle always swings around to point its arrow toward the north direction. When a sailor know this direction. he could figure out the south east and west.
The invention of the compass made a great deal of difference to the history of the world. Before men had only the sun and the stars to guide them over seas and wastelands. Often the sun and stars were hidden in fog and clouds. There was no way for the traveler to tell which way he was going. But with a compass he could steer a true course regardless of whether he could see the skies. Sailors became bolder when they know for sure that they could find their way home again. New lands were discovered across the trackless oceans.
Columbus used a compass when he made his famous voyage to the New World. Magellan used a compass on his famous trip that proved the world was rounds Had it not been for that unknown person who invented the compass these voyages may well have been impossible. .
Through the years the first simple compass has been much improved. A modern ship’s compass is a very precise instrument and it is much easier to read than the original floating compass. It may have two or more needles for greater accuracy. The direction is read on a round chart called the compass card. The outer edge of the compass is divided into 360 equal degrees. An inner circle marks off 32 different directions. There is also a section with marks off the four cardinal points due north due south due east and due west.
The needle of the compass points to the earth's north magnetic pole. This magnetic pole is about 19 000 miles away from the true north pole. So only in certain places on earth does the compass needle point directly north. But a good sailor knows just how to calculate the true north direction frcm the needle of his magnetic compass.