History of the Compass
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- The First Compass was developed in China during the Han Dynasty, which lasted from the 2nd Century BC to the 1st Century AD
- Instead of Navigation, the first Compass was used for Fortune-Telling and studying Geometry.
- It wasn´t until the Song Dynasty during the 11th & 12th Centuries that Chinese sailors started using the Compass for Navigation on the sea.
- By the year 1190, the first description of the Compass and its uses was recorded by Alexander Neckam.
- His book ¨De Naturis Rerum¨ or ¨The Nature of Things¨ provides this description.
- The first modern design of the Compass came from Sir William Thompson, later Lord Kelvin, in 1876.
- Sir Thompson included a new Compass housing, corrector magnets, iron spheres, and lighter, smaller needles.
- The changes were used to counteract the magnetic pull from the ship´s iron on the Compass and to keep the Compass level when sailing.
- Today, a modern Compass will usually contain a dial around the needle, which is usually submerged in some form of liquid (like mineral oil) to prevent oscilation, and Photoluminescent materials on key points of the compass which allow it to be read at night.
- Throughout History, the Compass has generally been used as a navigational device, mainly for sailors. And as its design changed and improved, it became one of the most important tools used in navigation, even to this day.
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