From the depths of the centuries: the history of compass creation

The history of compass creation will be interesting notonly specialists. Compass can safely be included in the list of the greatest discoveries of mankind. Thanks to him, later, cartography was created, which allowed a person to learn about new habitats. It is the compass that we owe the discovery of America. After all, before its appearance, travelers were guided only by stars and geographical objects. But these landmarks strongly depended on the weather. Conventional clouds could easily disarm the traveler. Since the invention of the compass, these problems have disappeared. But the history of creating a compass requires a more detailed story. Well, let's start!

Compass: the history of his discovery

The very word "compass" comes fromAncient British "compass", meaning "circle". Most modern historians argue that the compass was invented in China in the 1st century. BC. e. Although there is evidence that this device existed in the second millennium BC. e. In any case, then the compass was a small piece of magnetized metal, which was attached to a wooden bar, which was in a vessel with water. This compass was used for driving in deserts. It was also used by astrologers.

The history of the discovery of the compass says that in Arabicworld it appeared in the VIII century., and in European countries - only in the XII century. The first mentioned device was adopted by the Italians from the Arabs. Then the compass began to be used by the Spaniards, the Portuguese and the French. The Germans and the British learned the latest about the new device. But even at that time the compass device remained as simple as possible: the magnetic needle was fixed on the plug and lowered into the water. It was in the water that the cork, supplemented by an arrow, was oriented accordingly. In the XI century. all in the same China appeared a compass needle, which was made from an artificial magnet. As a rule, it was made in the form of a fish.

The history of the compass was continued in XIVcentury. The relay took the Italian F. Joya, who managed to significantly improve this device. In particular, he decided to put the magnetic needle on a vertical pin. This simple, at first glance, device has helped to significantly improve the compass. In addition, to the arrow was attached a coil, broken into 16 points. Two centuries later, the division of the coil was 32 rumba, and the box with the arrow was placed in a special gimbal suspension. Thus, the pitching of the ship ceased to affect the compass. In the XVII century. The compass was equipped with a rotating ruler, which helped to more accurately count the direction. In the XVIII century. he had a direction finder.

But this is not the story of compass creationends. In 1838, a method was found to neutralize the influence of the ship's iron products on this device. And in 1908 a gyrocompass appeared, which became the main navigation device. It is he who always points to the north. Today the exact direction of movement can be learned by satellite navigation, nevertheless many ships are equipped with magnetic compasses. They are used for additional testing or in case of technical problems. Thus, the history of creating a compass is not even hundreds, but thousands of years.