Where and when did the first compass appear? Who invented the compass: the history of its discovery The compass and the history of its creation

The compass is the simplest and most ancient navigation device. Navigating the terrain using a compass is simple: the magnetized arrow always points north. The device known to every schoolchild has a very long and interesting history.


Looking at modern astronomical or radio compasses, it is difficult to imagine that their prototype - a piece of magnetic ore that people invented to use to find directions - appeared long before the birth of Christ.

And again the Chinese

Like many other inventions that humanity uses to this day, the compass was invented by the ancient Chinese. According to some sources, prehistoric compasses appeared three millennia BC, according to others - no earlier than the 2nd century BC.

The first version is based more on myths than historical facts. In China, Emperor Huang Di is revered, who ruled the country around 2600 BC. He is credited with the invention of the first compass, with the help of which the ruler found his way in the desert and saved his army from certain death. However, historically reliable information about this person does not exist.

Another hypothesis states that during the Han Dynasty (in the 1st-2nd century BC), the Chinese were already using a compass. This compass was a magnetized object with a semicircular base that rotated, always pointing to one side of the world.


It is reliably known that during the Song Dynasty (in the 10th-13th centuries AD) the Chinese had compasses, which they used for orientation in the deserts.

Further spread of the compass

From the Chinese the compass came to the Arabs. The Arabs were good sailors; they needed navigational aids, so they liked the idea of ​​a compass. The 13th century Arabic compass was a magnetized object that was dipped into a container of water. The minimum frictional force allowed the object to move freely, turning in one of the cardinal directions. It was in this form that the prototype of the modern compass came to the Europeans.

European navigators needed a navigation device vitally, and they quickly improved the Arab device. The inventor of the European compass, which not only indicates the north-south direction, but allows you to more accurately navigate to the cardinal points, is the Italian Flavio Gioia. He divided the compass dial into 16 divisions.

In addition, Gioia finally installed the arrow on a thin pin (this idea had previously been used in some models of compasses), and to reduce the friction force in the axis, he poured water into the bowl. This happened in the 14th century. Since then, the design of the compass has undergone significant changes, but Joya's design is used in all modern magnetic compasses to this day.

Modern types of compasses

Several types of compass have been developed for use in various industries.

Magnetic compasses based on the action of the Earth's magnetic field. The magnetized element always occupies a position parallel to the meridians and points towards the magnetic poles of the planet. A successful model of a magnetic compass is the compass invented by our compatriot, the talented engineer Adrianov and named after him.

This is a well-known compass with an arrow that can be stopped using a stopper. For precise orientation, Adrianov's compass is equipped with a scale and two additional arrows (front and rear sight).

Electromagnetic compass uses the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. In such compasses, the stator (fixed part) is the Earth, and the rotor (moving part) is a frame with a winding. Electromagnetic compasses are used in airplanes and ships because they avoid the magnetization effect of the metal case and minimize errors.

Gyro-compass is based on the use of a special device - a gyroscope, and is distinctive in that it points not to the magnetic, but to the geographical pole. An invention of German engineers at the beginning of the 20th century.

Electronic compasses created in recent decades. In fact, these are not compasses, but devices that pick up signals from satellites and show the direction using a satellite navigation system.

Many people are interested in where and when the first compass appeared. Through this story, I will try to illuminate this issue in as much detail and detail as possible. So, the structure of my story is as follows:

• reasons for creating the compass;
• place and time of appearance of the compass;
• what the first compass looked like and who used it.

Reasons for creating the compass

People at all times needed the ability to navigate during their travels. Trade turnover, food, the development of new territories, territorial conquests, etc. depended on knowledge of this kind. To successfully return home, some kind of landmark was needed that would not depend on either the weather or nature. It was for these purposes that an invention such as a compass was invented.

Place and time of appearance of the compass

After the Song Dynasty, China ceased to be divided and began to rise significantly in economic, political, as well as social sectors. The empire began to develop powerfully. This information is important, since it was only in connection with this that the compass was invented in China. The fact is that a rich Chinese caravan with goods still had to travel a huge distance without getting lost. If it were not for the development of China, then no one would need to create some kind of compass there, since it simply would not be needed. At least during this period of time.

What did the first compass look like and who used it?

The first compass looked like a spoon that rotated freely on a saucer like a plate on which the cardinal directions were marked.

The handle of the compass was slightly magnetized, and quite often it showed the territory in a southern direction.

Some compasses could be given as a gift to an official or even an emperor. They were skillfully carved by the best craftsmen and decorated with jewelry. It was art.

At first, such a compass was used only in the desert and other countries, and then, over time, it was transferred to maritime use, where it proved itself well and spread throughout the world.

Today, the compass can be downloaded to an Android device, iPhone or computer.

According to historical data, the invention of the compass occurred during the reign of the Chinese Song Dynasty and was associated with the need to navigate in the desert. In the 3rd century BC. Chinese philosopher Hen Fei-tzu described the design of the compass of his era as follows: it was a spherical, carefully polished in the convex part, pouring spoon, consisting of magnetite with a thin handle.

It was installed on a carefully polished copper or wooden plate with its convex part so that the handle did not touch the plate, but was located freely above it. In this case, the spoon should rotate freely around the axis of its base.

Designations of the cardinal directions representing the zodiac signs are applied to the plate. The spoon was rotated by pushing the handle of the stem. When the spoon stops, the handle, which acts as a magnetic needle, points exactly south.

This was the structure of the most ancient device that performed the functions of a compass. In the 11th century, a floating compass needle made of an artificial magnet appeared in China. Usually it was made in the shape of a fish, which was dipped into a vessel with water. She swam freely in the water, pointing her head towards the south. The Chinese were equipped with floating compasses. They were installed at the bow and stern to make it convenient for captains to navigate the journey in any weather.

This compass reached the Arabs in the 12th century, and at the beginning of the 13th century - the Europeans. Italian sailors were the first to adopt the “floating needle” from the Arabs, later - the Spaniards, Portuguese and French, and even later - the Germans and the British. Initially, the compass was a magnetized needle and a piece of wood floating in a vessel of water. Soon the vessel began to be covered to protect the mechanism from the effects of wind. In the middle of the 16th century, the magnetic needle began to be placed on the tip in the middle of the circle.

The compass acquired a significantly improved appearance at the beginning of the 14th century thanks to the Italian Flavio Gioia. He placed the magnetic needle on a vertical pin, and the needle attached to a light circle - a card, divided along the circumference into 16 points. And in the 16th century, the card and the box with the arrow were placed in a gimbal to avoid the influence of the ship's rocking on the compass readings.

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 attaching it not to a silk thread, but to a hairpin, which is more reminiscent of the modern form of a 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 invention of the compass goes back a long way. The first description of a compass was made in the 3rd century BC by the Chinese philosopher Hen Fei-tzu. It was a pouring spoon made of magnetite with a narrow handle, shaped like a ball.

It was installed on a plate made of copper and wood, on which the zodiac signs were marked. In this case, the handle was suspended and could rotate in a circle. The spoon was set in motion, and it always pointed south when it stopped. This was the very first compass in the world.

In the middle of the 11th century, a floating needle was made from an artificial magnet in China. Most often it took the form of a fish. She was lowered into the water where she floated. The fish's head always pointed south. At the same time, a scientist from China Shen Gua came up with several versions of the compass. He magnetized a sewing needle and used wax to attach it to a hanging thread of silk. It was a more accurate compass because the resistance encountered when turning was reduced. In another version, he suggested putting this needle on a hairpin. Based on his experiments, the inventor Shen Gua noticed that the arrow pointed south with a slight deviation. He was able to explain this by the difference between the magnetic and geographical meridians. Later, scientists learned to calculate this deviation for different parts of China. In the 11th century, many Chinese ships had floating compasses. They were placed on the bow of the ship so that the captain could always look at his readings.

In the 12th century, the Chinese invention was used by the Arabs, and in the 13th century by the Europeans. In Europe, the Italians were the first to learn about the compass, then the Spaniards, the French, and then the British and Germans. Then the compass was a cork and a magnetized needle floating in a container of water. Soon, to protect it from the wind, they began to cover it with glass.

At the beginning of the 14th century, a magnetized arrow was installed on a circle of paper, and after some time the Italian Flavio Gioia divided the circle into 16 parts, and then into 32 sectors. In the middle of the 16th century, the arrow was fixed on a gimbal to reduce the influence of pitching, and a century later in the history of the compass, the appearance of a rotating ruler was noted, which increased the accuracy of the readings. The compass became the first navigation device for finding a way on the open sea. This allowed sailors to go on long voyages across the ocean.