How Does a Magnetic Compass Work?
Prior to the invention of the compass, majority of sailors ascertained their direction by the orientation of the sun, stars, etc. However, there exists no method of telling which course of direction they were journeying if the sky is dimmed, as in the evening, or if it was obscured due to cloudiness. This had a pronounced influence on traveling during those times. It is a pity how they would just maintain their ships quite near to shore so as not to get lost.
Sailors were empowered to determine their location and plan their voyages a lot more convenient with the proliferation of compasses. This led to the glorious unraveling of America and to the commencement of the era of the world’s best explorers.
A compass is one of the most ordinary devices there is but it is very handy. It is a tool that gives the magnetic north direction. Needless to say, compasses were the only ones being used to ascertain direction prior to the invention of other sophisticated navigational aids like the GPS.
How it Works
A compass is unbelievably ordinary in its features. It has a very lightweight needle with a miniature magnet positioned at the opposite end. The needle-attached magnet freely moves through an almost frictionless pivot. A firmly held compass needle will always point to the north direction. Most of the time it has a red marking or an N inscription just beneath the needle to indicate the direction of the north.
Your direction can be conveniently deduced at any given time just by noting the position of the compass needle that shows where the magnetic north lies.
Why it always points north
The logical basis why the needle points north at all times is an intriguing phenomena. We should always bear in mind that the compass’ needle has a miniature magnet at its end. There is an awesome magnetic pull below the earth’s surface. Imagine the earth’s interior as a huge magnetic bar whose length spans the entirety of the distance between the South Pole and the North Pole. For the north terminal of the compass to directly point north, it requires an attraction by the south terminal of the magnetic bar since opposite magnetic poles attract each other.
The compass feels the considerable attraction of the earth’s magnetic field. The earth’s surface is around 8,000 miles from the core. Because of this great distance, the magnetic attraction is almost nothing. It is for this reason that the magnetic needle of a compass has to be permitted to be in free motion without any frictional hindrance to detect this attraction. The presence of any opposing force will prevent the needle from pointing north.
