Question

Write a Note: on ‘compass’.

Answer 1

Hint: Robert Peary used this compass to reach the North Pole, allegedly the first person to do so. Highly advanced compasses are still used by many airplanes and ships.

Complete answer:
A. A compass is an instrument that indicates direction relative to the geographic cardinal directions (or points) used for navigation and orientation.
B. Usually, a diagram called a compass rose displays the north, south, east, and west directions as abbreviated initials on the compass face.
C. In addition to (or often instead of) the rose, compasses also show markings for angles in grades. North is equal to 0 °, and clockwise the angles rise, so east is 90 ° degrees, south is 180 °, and west is 270 °.
D. A compass is a direction-finding instrument. A magnetic needle mounted on a hinge, or short pin is a basic compass. The needle, which can rotate freely, points north at all times. The pivot is connected to a card with a compass.
E. A person lines up the needle with the marking for the north in order to use a compass. Then the person can figure all the other ways out.
F. A compass works because there is an immense magnet on Earth.
G. A magnet has two primary force centers, called poles, one at each end. Magnetic force lines link these poles. Bits of metal often organize themselves along these lines near a magnet. Like these pieces of metal, a compass needleworks. It points north because it matches up with magnetic force lines from Earth.
H. The magnetic poles of the Earth are not the same as the northern and southern geographic poles. At the very top and bottom of the globe are the celestial poles. Nearby are the magnetic poles, but not precisely at the same positions.
I. The magnetic North Pole is pointed by a compass, not the geographic North Pole. A compass user, therefore, needs to make changes to locate true north.

Note: The true north refers to a special kind of compass called a gyrocompass. The gyrocompass uses a system that always points in the same direction, called a gyroscope. Large ships today hold magnetic compasses as well as gyrocompasses. During the 1100s, individuals in China and Europe first learned how to make magnetic compasses. They found that it pointed to the north when a magnetized bit of iron floated in the sea. Sailors soon started using compasses to navigate at sea or find their way.