The invention of the compass probably occurred during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 AD) from Chinese fortune tellers who exploited the amazing ability of a metalized object to face north.
Chinese invention
Tell me exactly where you were compass invented It’s almost impossible, because it was too long ago and the story about this fact has not reached us. Nevertheless, many believe that the invention was created in China. A similar device worked for orientation in all areas, including the deserts of China.
There is only one ancient record about the invention of the compass, when the ancient Chinese ideologist Hen Fei-tzu described an object that is very similar to a device that facilitates orientation on the ground, such as we know it today. Later, in the 1st century, a record was created, also in China, about a device with a floating arrow. It says that the arrow was in the shape of a fish, and was created from a special material similar to a magnet. The arrow had to be lowered into the water, and it would already point in a certain direction.
The invention of the compass was further developed in the 8th century AD, when a magnetized needle began to be used in navigation devices on ships.
The first person to use the invention for navigation was Zheng He (1371-1435) from Yunnan, who completed seven ocean voyages between 1405 and 1433.
Already in the 12th century, Chinese wanderers shared knowledge about this incredible contraption with the Arabs. After which they presented it to Italian sailors in Europe. Already from Italy, the device gradually began to roam throughout Europe, starting from Central Europe where the country is now Croatia. In the 14th century the arrow from magnetic material was placed in the center of a paper reel.
It was only in the 15th century that a device began to appear, the predecessor of today's, when the Maltese Flavio Gioia placed a magnetized needle on a needle-shaped pin. In addition, he divided the compass panel into 16 parts, however, a century later it was divided into 32 parts. Since the invention of the compass, it has not changed in any way on the inside, but has only been modified on the outside, because generations change, which means things must change.
Device Application
Nowadays, the compass is used to identify directions in aviation, tourism, hunting, travel, and simply when moving from one place to another. Electronic devices are commercially produced, but they are still based on a horizontal component sensor magnetic field Earth from an observational point of view.
Compass Simplest mechanical device - a magnetic compass consists of a magnetic needle that rotates freely in a horizontal plane and, under the influence of earth magnetism, is installed along the magnetic meridian. The compass is used for orientation relative to the sides of the horizon. The history of the compass begins in China. In the 3rd century BC. e. The Chinese philosopher Hen Fei-tzu described the structure of a contemporary compass, which was called sonan, which means “in charge of the south”: it looked like a pouring spoon made of magnetite with a thin handle and a spherical, carefully polished convex part. With this convex part, the spoon was mounted on an equally carefully polished copper or wooden plate, so that the handle did not touch the plate, but hung freely above it, and at the same time the spoon could easily rotate around the axis of its convex base. The plate contained designations of the countries of the world in the form of cyclic zodiac signs. By pushing the handle of the spoon, it was set into rotation. Having calmed down, the compass pointed with its handle (which played the role of a magnetic needle) exactly to the south. The shape of the ladle was not chosen by chance. She copied the shape of the constellation Ursa Major, called the “Heavenly Bucket” (Tian dou) in China. This was the most ancient device for determining the cardinal directions. The disadvantage of such a compass was that magnetite was poorly processed and very fragile. In addition, the “master of the south” was not accurate enough due to strong friction between the ladle and the surface of the board. In the 11th century, a floating compass needle made of an artificial magnet appeared in China. The Chinese discovered that the magnetization effect is observed both when iron comes into contact with a magnet, and when an iron piece heated to redness is cooled. A magnetized compass was made in the shape of an iron fish. It was heated red-hot and dropped into a vessel with water. . Here she swam freely, pointing her head in the direction where the south was. When heated again, the fish lost its magnetic properties. There is a mention of such a compass in the treatise “Fundamentals of Military Affairs” (“Wu Jin Zunyao”), written in 1044. Several types of compass were invented in the same 11th century by the Chinese scientist Shen Gua (1030-1094), who worked a lot on researching the properties magnetic needle. He suggested, for example, magnetizing an ordinary sewing needle on a natural magnet, then attaching it with wax in the center of the body to a freely hanging silk thread. This compass indicated the direction more accurately than a floating one, since it experienced much less resistance when turning. Another compass design, proposed by Shen Gua, was even closer to the modern one: a magnetized needle was mounted on a pin. During his experiments, Shen Gua established that the compass needle does not point exactly to the south, but with some deviation, and correctly explained the reason for this phenomenon by the fact that the magnetic and geographical meridians do not coincide with each other, but form an angle. Scientists who lived after Shen Gua were already able to calculate this angle (called magnetic declination) for various regions of China. In Europe, the phenomenon of magnetic declination was first noticed by Columbus during his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, that is, four centuries later than Shen Gua described it. In the 11th century, many Chinese ships were equipped with floating compasses. They were usually installed at the bow and stern of ships, so that captains could keep the correct course in any weather, in accordance with their instructions. In this form, the Chinese compass was borrowed by the Arabs in the 12th century. At the beginning of the 13th century, the “floating needle” became known to Europeans. Italian sailors were the first to adopt it from the Arabs. From them the compass passed to the Spaniards, Portuguese and French, and later to the Germans and British. At first, the compass consisted of a magnetized needle and a piece of wood (cork) floating in a vessel with water. Soon they figured out how to cover this vessel with glass to protect the float from the wind. In the middle of the 14th century
The “Compass” report for children will briefly tell you the history of the discovery of this object. The compass report can also be used during preparation for the lesson.
Compass message
Compass is a device for searching the sides of the horizon using a magnetic needle, which indicates the direction to the south and north. It was invented many centuries ago, and it immediately began to be used by travelers. The compass was the first navigational device that allowed sailors to go out to sea.
Where and when did the first compass appear?
In the 3rd century BC. e. In China, a device was invented that pointed to the cardinal directions. Outwardly, it resembled a spoon with a thin handle and a convex spherical part. It was made from magnetite. The polished convex part of the spoon was placed on a wooden or copper plate, also polished. The handle hung freely above the plate, but the spoon rotated around the axis of the convex base. The countries of the world were indicated on the plate. The compass needle, at rest, always pointed exactly south. This ancient compass was called sonan, that is, “in charge of the south.”
In the 11th century, the Chinese invented a floating compass needle made from an artificial magnet. The iron compass then had the shape of a fish. First, it was heated until red, and then lowered into a vessel with water. The “fish” began to swim, and its head pointed to the south. Shen Gua, a scientist from the same China, proposed a couple of varieties of compass: with a magnetized needle and silk thread, with a magnetized needle and hairpin. In the 12th century, a compass with a magnetic needle was used by the Arabs, and a century later by the Italians, French, Spaniards and Portuguese.
In the 14th century, they began to place a magnetic needle on a point in the middle of a circle made of paper - a card. The next person to improve the compass was the Italian Flavio Giulio. He divided the paper circle into 16 parts. In the 17th century, it was improved with a rotating ruler with sights, which made it possible to more accurately calculate the direction.
What does a compass consist of?
The design of the device depends on the type of compass. The following types are distinguished: gyrocompass, magnetic compass, electronic compass. The main part of a regular magnetic compass is a compass with a pin in the center. There is a magnetic needle at the end of the spire, and the body itself is covered with glass on top.
Compass: interesting facts
- Before the invention and spread of the compass, sailors on their ships did not go out to the open sea, so as not to get lost.
- The compass was brought to Europe by Venetian merchants.
- Before the Chinese, the Indians used something like a compass. In San Lorenzo Tenochtilan, scientists found a hematite artifact dating back to 1000 BC. But magnetic iron ore However, the Chinese discovered it.
- You can make your own compass from a saucer of water and a magnetized needle.
We hope that the report about the compass helped you learn a lot useful information about him. You can leave a short story about the compass using the comment form below.
Instructions
The idea of creating a compass belongs to the ancient Chinese. In the 3rd century BC. one of the Chinese philosophers described the compass of that time as follows. It was a magnetite pouring spoon, which had a thin handle and a well-polished spherical convex part. The spoon rested with its convex part on the same carefully polished surface of a copper or wooden plate, while the handle of the plate did not touch, but hung freely above it. In this way, the spoon could rotate around its convex base. On the plate itself the cardinal directions were drawn in the form of zodiac signs. If you specifically pushed the handle of the spoon, it began to rotate, and when it stopped, the handle always pointed exactly to the south.
Everyone in China in the 11th century came up with a floating compass needle. It was made from an artificial magnet, usually in the shape of a fish. She was placed in a vessel with water, where she floated freely, and when she stopped, she also always pointed her head to the south. Other forms of the compass were invented in the same century by the Chinese scientist Shen Gua. He proposed magnetizing an ordinary sewing needle on a natural magnet, and then attaching this needle in the center of the body to a silk thread using wax. This resulted in less turning of the needle than in water, and therefore the compass showed a more accurate direction. Another model proposed by the scientist involved fastening not to a silk thread, but to a hairpin, which is more reminiscent modern form compass.
Almost all Chinese ships in XI had floating compasses installed. It is in this form that they spread throughout the world. They were first adopted by the Arabs in the 12th century. Later, the magnetic needle became known in European countries: first in Italy, then in Portugal, Spain, France, and later in England and Germany. At first, a magnetized needle on a piece of wood or cork floated in a vessel with water, later they decided to cover the vessel with glass, and even later they figured out placing a magnetic needle on a point in the center of a paper circle. Then the compass was improved by the Italians, a coil was added to it, which was divided into 16 (later 32) equal sectors pointing to the cardinal directions (first 4, and later 8 sectors for each side).
Further development of science and technology made it possible to create an electromagnetic version of the compass, which is more advanced in the sense that it does not provide for deviations due to the presence of ferromagnetic parts in the vehicle on which it is used. In 1908, the German engineer G. Anschutz-Kampfe created a prototype of a gyrocompass, the advantage of which was to indicate the direction not to the magnetic north pole, but to the true geographic one. The gyrocompass is almost universally used for navigation and control of large sea vessels. The modern era of new computer technologies has made it possible to come up with an electronic compass, the creation of which is associated primarily with the development of a satellite navigation system.
The history of the creation of the first magnetic compass goes back centuries and still remains a mystery in many respects. We mostly get only fragments of those stories with which the appearance of the first magnetic compass could be associated. Greece, China and India claim the title of the country in which the first compass appeared, but even here everything is not so clear.
I propose together to consider the information that has come down to us thanks to the scrupulous work of historians, on the basis of which it will be possible to get an idea of where and when one of the first navigational instruments appeared, which to this day is very popular and is used by both sailors and travel enthusiasts. drier.
One of the “models” of ancient compasses, which still works quite well today.
Since the invention of the magnetic compass is closely related to the discovery and study of magnetism, our further story will simultaneously consider this phenomenon.
First Chinese compass
According to some researchers, the phenomenon of magnetism was first discovered by the ancient Greeks. However, there is another point of view that gives the authorship of the discovery to the Chinese.
Scientists who prefer the “Chinese discovery” refer to a chronicle made in the third millennium BC, although it is assumed that magnetic iron ore itself (aka magnetite) was discovered by the Chinese a thousand years earlier.
In the chronicles cited by scientists, it is assumed that the Chinese Emperor Huang Di used a compass for navigation during his battle. However, according to another version, instead of a compass, his carts used a device in the form of a chariot, on which a miniature figurine of a man showed the direction to the south.
A reconstruction of such a chariot is shown in the photo below:
This chariot was mounted on vehicle and was connected to its wheels in such a way that, thanks to the well-established gear mechanism, when the cart turned, the chariot began to rotate in the opposite direction. Thus, the miniature figurine of a man on a chariot always invariably points to the south, regardless of the turn of the vehicle. In general, of course, this figure would have shown in any other direction: everything depended on where it was initially directed. The chariot itself was not able to navigate to the cardinal points, as the needle of a magnetic compass does.
It is interesting that one of the first Chinese compasses, which was a spoon made of magnetic material and rotating on a smooth board, was not used for its intended purpose, but in magical rituals for predictions. This use of a magnet took place in the third millennium BC, although according to another version, the magnetic properties of a ferromagnet were used in ancient China already in the fourth millennium BC in Feng Shui rituals, explaining magnetism as a manifestation of higher forces.
By the end of the second millennium BC, Chinese sailors were already fully using magnetic compasses for their intended purpose - to navigate the sea.
First compass in India
Independently of China, magnetism was also discovered in India. This discovery happened thanks to a mountain located near the Indus River. Local residents noticed that this mountain was capable of attracting iron.
The magnetic properties of the rock have found application in Indian medicine. Thus, Sushruta, an Indian doctor, used a magnet for surgical procedures.
As in China, sailors in India learned to use a magnet. Their compass looked like a homemade fish, the head of which was made of a material with magnetic properties.
Thus, the Indian fish and the Chinese spoon became the ancestors of the modern compass.
Compass and Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece, like the previous two countries, did not lag behind in the scientific field. The Greeks, independently of other scientists, independently discovered and studied the phenomenon of magnetism, and then created their first compass.
In the 7th–6th centuries BC, the ancient Greeks, namely Thales of Miletus, discovered that magnetite, known for several centuries, was capable of attracting iron.
This phenomenon was explained in different ways: some believed that magnetite has a soul that is drawn to iron, others - that iron has moisture, which in turn is absorbed by the magnet. But, as we understand, such explanations were still very far from the truth.
Later, Socrates discovered the phenomenon of magnetization of iron attracted to a magnet. And some time later it was discovered that magnets can not only attract, but also repel.
It is thanks to the discovery of Socrates that not only compasses, but also a huge number of other instruments work today.
Thus, all the facets of magnetism were gradually revealed, which later made it possible to reveal its nature. But at this stage it was too early to talk about something like a compass.
Further history
In the Middle Ages, nothing particularly new was discovered in terms of discovering new properties of magnetism and working with magnets. Only new explanations for this phenomenon have appeared, mainly related to the same supernatural forces. For example, the monks explained the manifestation of magnetism based on the doctrine of theology.
If we talk about Europe, then the first mention of a compass is found in the works of Alexander Neckam and dates back to 1187. Although, perhaps, the use of the compass here and in the Mediterranean began much earlier - back in the second millennium BC, as evidenced by indirect indications of ancient historians. It is assumed that no reference to the compass survives because the compass simply did not have its own name to fit into the historical document.
Three centuries later, during his voyages, the famous sailor Christopher Columbus noticed that during a sea voyage the magnetic needle deviates from the north-south direction. Thus, magnetic declination was discovered, the values of which are still used by sailors and are indicated on some maps.
At Lomonosov's suggestion, observatories were created to systematically study the Earth's magnetic field and its changes. However, this did not happen during the lifetime of the great Russian scientist, but, as they say, “better late than never.”
Later, Descartes and a number of other scientists developed a detailed scientific theory magnetism, and also discovered the magnetic properties of other materials not related to ferromagnets - para- and diamagnetic materials.
Some time later, points of the Earth's magnetic poles were found where the magnetic needle has an inclination of 90°, that is, it is located perpendicular to the horizontal plane.
The compass will only show at the poles if it is positioned vertically.
In parallel with the study of magnets and the features of the manifestation of their magnetic field in different conditions The design of magnetic compasses was improved. In addition, other types of compasses were invented that operated on principles unrelated to magnetism. We talked about them in
Modern models of magnetic compasses are very different from their predecessors. They are more compact, lighter, allow you to work faster and provide more accurate results when taking measurements. In addition, such models are often equipped with auxiliary elements that expand the capabilities of the device when working with a map and on the ground.
We should not forget about compasses, the operation of which is not based on the magnetic properties of the needle. Today, there are many such compasses known, which allows the user to choose the most convenient option for operating conditions.
As you can see, the story is at the moment cannot give a clear and unambiguous answer to the question of where the very first compass in the world appeared and who invented it. Let's hope that soon historians will be able to brush away the veil of antiquity hiding the facts and they will have more data in order to figure out the country of the discoverers. And we can only wait, learn and use the knowledge that came from the past and is fully used by humanity in the future. modern stage development.