By:Group 2

what is magnetic compass?

 The magnetic compass is the most well-
known of all instruments used in finding
direction. It is the oldest navigational
instrument and has been aiding sailors to
cross the seas for many centuries.
Mariners can use magnetic compasses to
fix a ship’s position on a chart by using it to
take bearings of visible objects as well as
allowing them to steer a particular course.
History of magnetic compass
 The exact origins of the magnetic compass and
the date that it was first used are unknown.
However, it is certain the Ancient Greeks were
aware of the attractive properties of magnetism,
and the Chinese probably knew that iron bars
acquired a directional north-south property when
stroked with a lodestone up to 2,000 years ago.
This idea reached Europe in the 10th century and
was probably introduced by Arab traders who
gained the information from China. Simple
magnetic compasses were used in the
Mediterranean in the 12th century, although they
were often unreliable. In the Middle Ages,
magnetic compasses were used widely, but little
was known about how they worked.
Errors and corrections in ship
magnetic compass
 Variation: Is the angle between the true
and magnetic meridian, that is to say, the
angle that the freely suspended magnetic
needle makes with the True Meridian. If the
magnetic needle is drawn to the right of the
true meridian, the variation is termed
Easterly and if the needle is drawn to the
left of the True Meridian, the variation is
termed Westerly.
 Deviation: A ship is made of steel, acquires a
certain magnetism and so inherently has an effect
on the magnetic compass. In other words, the
compass needle on board does not lie on the
magnetic meridian but is deflected on one side or
the other because of the ship’s magnetism.
Although corrective magnets are inserted in the
housing (also called binnacle) of the compass to
counteract this, the system is not perfect because
the ship also loads steel cargo which makes the
error variable. Also, the error thus caused is found
to vary as the ship points in different directions
(different headings). This error is called ‘deviation’
and is named East if the compass needle is drawn
to the right and West if the needle is drawn to the
left.
how does a magnetic compass
work?
 The Earth is a magnet that can interact
with other magnets in this way, so the
north end of a compass magnet is
drawn to align with the
Earth's magnetic field. Because the
Earth'smagnetic North Pole attracts the
"north" ends of other magnets, it is
technically the "South Pole" of our
planet'smagnetic field.
The Construction of a liquid
Magnetic Card
 The liquid magnetic compass, now almost
universally used, is commonly accompanied by an
azimuth instrument for taking bearings of distant
objects. The compass consists of a set of steel
needles with a compass card, attached to a float, in
a bowl of water and alcohol. In modern instruments,
the magnetic element is often in the form of a ring
magnet, fitted within the float. The card is usually of
mica or plastic with photographically printed
graduations; metal cards with perforated graduations
also are used. Cards are usually graduated
clockwise from 0° at north to 359°, with the eight
principal points indicated.
The lodestone and the compass
card
 t is not known where or when it was discovered that
the lodestone (a magnetized mineral composed of an iron
oxide) aligns itself in a north-south direction, as does a
piece of iron that has been magnetized by contact with a
lodestone. Neither is it known where or when marine
navigators first availed themselves of these discoveries.
Plausible records indicate that the Chinese were using the
magnetic compass around AD1100, western Europeans
by 1187, Arabs by 1220, and Scandinavians by 1300. The
device could have originated in each of these groups, or it
could have been passed from one to the others. All of
them had been making long voyages, relying on steady
winds to guide them and sightings of the Sun or a familiar
star to inform them of any change. When the magnetic
compasswas introduced, it probably was used merely to
check the direction of the wind when clouds obscured the
sky.
How the Card is kept practically
Horizontally in all latitudes
 The compass is kept horizontal by the use of a
gimbal, or ring moving freely on an axis, within
which in swings on an axis at right angles. In
the azimuth compass the circumference of the
card is divided into degrees and parts by a
vernier, and is fitted up with sight-vanes to
take amplitudes and azimuths, for the purpose
of determing the variation of the compass by
observation. The variation is applied to the
magnetic course shown by the steering
compass, and thus the true course with
respect to the meridian becomes known.
 The card is directed by the needle, which
with it, is pivoted on a vertical axis. Wih a
little variation, the needle points nearly to
the geographical north, and hence the
mode of steering by the compass. Four or
more parallel magnets, with like poles
pointing in like directions, may be
combined to form the needle; and by this
arrangement the magnet moment is
increased for a given weight of steel.