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Visit http://www.makemegenius.com for more free science videos.A compass is a magnetic instrument which helps in navigation (finding directions).This works o...
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- makemegenius
Ever wondered how a compass works? This video dives into the fascinating science behind the magnetic needle of a compass and its alignment with Earth's magne...
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- Educating Primary
Have you ever wondered how a compass always points in the right direction? In this video, you’ll learn all about how a compass works 🧭 and why the magnetic ...
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- KnowFlux
How does a compass work? In this lesson, we will learn about the history of the compass and then use our knowledge to write instructions for a treasure map! Download all resources.
- Why Compasses Can Be Inaccurate
- Ship's Compasses
- Other Kinds of Compasses
- Who Invented The Compass?
Compasses are brilliantly useful but they can sometimes lead us astray, because of twoquite different problems called declination (or variation) anddeviation. Here's why.
Declination and deviation don't matter so much if you're on foot with a map or in acar; generally, there are other things you can use to help you findyour way and it's hardly catastrophic if you take a wrong turn ortwo. On a ship, far from land and in bad weather (so you can'tnavigate by the sky), it's a whole different matter. Beforetechnological ...
Gyrocompasses
If magnetic compasses can be tricky to use in ships, imagine how much worse they are in fast-moving aircraft. That's why airplanes (plus large shipsand some land vehicles) rely on gyrocompasses. Unlike a magneticcompass, which points the same way because of magnetic attraction, agyrocompass uses a gyroscope—a fast-spinning wheel, mounted ongimbals, that keeps rotating in the same direction whichever way youturn it. Gyrocompasses are better able to cope with the more "dynamicenvironment" onboa...
Astrocompasses
While magnetic compasses and gyrocompasses are set according to the Earth,astrocompasses are aligned with the position of celestial bodies(fixed points in the sky, such as the Sun or stars) and then indicatethe position of true north. They're more complex and harder to usethan magnetic compasses, but offer a good alternative in places likethe polar regions where magnetic compasses and gyrocompasses areunreliable. Photo: Gyrocompass and navigational equipment on a truck. Photo courtesy ofUS Ge...
Radio compasses
Also called radio direction finders (RDF), these pick up directional signals beamed outfrom radio transmitters.The basic idea is that a receiving antenna (onboard something like a ship or airplane) picks up a stronger or weaker signal according to how it points toward the transmitting antenna.With original RDF equipment, you had to turn the receiving antenna one way or the other to maximize or minimize the signal, which allowed you to figure out where the transmitter was. With signals from mo...
Photo: A fateful compass: This is the compass that actor John Wilkes Booth used to navigate the Potomac River, as he made his escape after shooting US President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Photo courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. No-one knows when or where compasses were invented, but this i...
Jan 9, 2015 · Compasses work so effortlessly because their design allows the magnet to respond freely to Earth's magnetic field. Earth itself is like a giant magnet that creates its own magnetic field. The north end of a compass is drawn to align with Earth's magnetic North Pole.
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How does a compass work? The Earth is a giant magnet that has two centres of force; the North and South Poles. The core of the planet, which is mainly molten iron, creates a magnetic field as it spins around. This is what makes the north and south magnetic poles and how compasses are able to work.
