The Compass - Tale of Invention

Compasses are a modern day tool for navigating. These are used by countless individuals and technological advances; guiding such things as air planes, submarines, shipping vessels, even cars and outdoors men in the right direction. The basic compass has a suspended magnetic piece that points in the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field. While a simple and priceless invention, it was not always used for directional purposes.

The compass was originally a magnetic compass which was designed in China roughly around 220 B.C. However, these were in no way used for directing, but for fortune telling. The Chinese (like many other cultures during these early periods) had fortune tellers, or mystics, that could supposedly predict the future. They would used a mineral of iron oxide which uses the magnetic field to align itself north and south. Often times this is called a "lodestone".

However after these lodestones were used for a substantial period of time, they began to realize that they could be used instead for telling the cardinal directions; north, south, east, and west. So in the excitement of their discovery, they used a square shaped slab with designated points that were relative to the cardinal directions. They used a lodestone as their needle, and made it in a spoon-esque shape. This discovery led to many more advancements from the Chinese in their compass creations.

Around the eighth century AD, the Chinese made another advancement. Instead of their traditional lodestone needle in the middle of the cardinal directions, they began using magnetized needles. These needles were a breakthrough as they are found on ships and other means of travel from that time. They were the first popular navigational tool in the ancient world.

At last the compass came to its full potential between the years of 1405 and 1433 as an explorer began to use it. Zheng He was his name, a man from the Yunnan province located inside of the mighty compass empire of China. He used the compass as a directional aid and recorded his using of it; thus making him the first known man in the world to have used a compass for a navigating ally.

Today, compasses are used in a variety of activities; flying, boating, and camping. Often times they are a highly regarded tool for those who go camping; and are often included in their equipment. Added in with flashlights and knives, a compass is a vital element in surviving the wild. This means that the compass has evolved more and more over the years to be an adequate and reliable tool for modern day outdoorsmen.

Compasses have become a common tool for most people. Whether a traditional needle compass or digital, they are used worldwide in a variety of circumstances. A simple, fortune-telling tool that was used in the early B.C.’s by the Chinese is now a revolutionary way of navigating. The tale of the compass is an amazing one; an invention that changed navigating the world. For more information visit to Compasses.