Page 38 - 443

IT IS INTERESTING TO KNOW
When Was the Compass Invented?
You might think that the compass has long been used by sailors to
navigate on the open seas. The truth is, there was no such thing as the
compass in ancient times, and even after the compass was invented, it
wasn't used all that much for marine navigation.
Sailors in ancient times charted their course by the stars, and did
not use a compass. No one knows where or when the first compass was
invented. It may have been in China or in the Near East or in Italy. All
we know is that the compass was first mentioned in the 12th century, and
that it was first used on a European ship in 1345. These early compasses
consisted of an iron needle attached to a piece of wood or cork that
floated in a bowl of water.

It wasn't until the 19th century that a really dependable compass
was invented. But the compass is no longer used on ships — it's been
replaced by a much better device called the gyrocompass. This device
reads the rotation of the earth, rather than the earth's magnetic field, and
points to the true North Pole instead of the north magnetic pole.

Would you believe...
The building of iron and steel
ships made the magnetic
compass useless because of
all the metal on board!

36