Compass. Travel Tips

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Compass. Travel Tips

Tourist tips

The simplest mechanical device magnetic compass consists of a magnetic needle, which freely rotates in a horizontal plane and, under the influence of terrestrial magnetism, is established along the magnetic meridian. The property of the magnetic needle to constantly maintain a certain direction to the north and is used for orientation.

It is difficult to say when the first compass was invented, but there are written sources that testify that the cunning Chinese used primitive magnetic compasses as early as the XNUMXst century AD. They protected their invention for more than a thousand years.

But in the XI-XII centuries, along the trade routes of the Great Silk Road, the magnetic compass from China reached Europe. At the end of the XII century. in Europe, the first "industrial" compass appeared - a magnetized needle mounted on a cork floating in a bowl of water, and by the XNUMXth century the compass was already widely used for navigation at sea.

Although today many military and merchant ships have replaced magnetic compasses with gyrocompasses and electronic compasses, the good old magnetic compass is still widely used by fishermen, yachtsmen, kayakers, kayakers, hikers and climbers, and it has not lost its importance in topography. , geology, marine and flight practice.

If you do not have a compass, then you can make one from improvised means. To do this, a bar magnet should be strengthened, for example: a magnetized needle, a piece of magnetic iron ore, half of a safety razor blade should be strengthened so that it can freely rotate in a horizontal plane around a vertical axis. Under the influence of the earth's magnetic field, the ends of your magnets will be set in the direction of north and south. The end that points to the north is called the north pole (its designation is N or C), the opposite end is called the south pole (designated S or Yu).

Types of compasses

The magnetic compass at all times has been and remains now the simplest device that can be made from improvised material, it consists of a magnetized arrow installed on the axis of rotation. Commercial compasses have the north end of the needle colored or marked in some way. To improve the accuracy of readings and ease of operation, the body is filled with a liquid that dampens the oscillations of the arrow, the arrow is balanced to compensate for the effect of inclination and mounted on agate or corundum bearings, which reduce friction when it rotates on the axis. Depending on who will use the compass, it is equipped with additional devices: sights, plumb lines, special scales, rulers, levels, etc. For example, a geological compass is equipped with a plumb line and can be used to determine the steepness of slopes, and the cardinal points are rearranged on its scale, so if you get such a compass in your hands, be very careful. Although it is very accurate, measurements with its help must be carried out taking into account its features.

In addition to magnetic compasses, there are gyrocompasses, the effect of which is based on the property of a freely suspended body (gyroscope rotor) rapidly rotating around its axis to withstand external influences and maintain its original position. In view of the fact that for its reliable operation this device requires a stable power supply and consumes a lot of energy, gyrocompasses are installed mainly on ships and aircraft.

Compass for orienteering

Despite their name, this type of compass is most commonly used by hikers and mountaineers. The compass was invented in Sweden in the 1920s for orienteering purposes and is known specifically as the orienteering compass or goniometer compass.

The simplest version of this compass consists of a liquid-filled round capsule mounted on a rectangular base of transparent material. A capsule with a magnetic needle inside can rotate relative to the substrate.

The disk of the capsule has marks of the main points and angular degrees, and an orienting arrow and a series of parallel orienting lines are drawn on its transparent base. The backing usually also includes an image of an arrow indicating the direction of travel, and possibly other aids, including rulers and a magnifying glass.

More advanced models can be equipped with a cover with a mirror and a sight, which allow you to more accurately determine the bearing of landmarks on the ground. Other devices may include an adjustable declination scale (for automatically correcting magnetic declination) and an inclinometer (for measuring the steepness of slopes).

Adjustable compasses have a small screw on the card disk that can be used to set the orienting arrow in the base of the capsule to either due east or due west. If you set the needle to the local magnetic declination, you no longer need to make declination corrections when comparing chart and compass bearings. However, if you enter an area with a different declination angle, do not forget to correct the setting.

Steering compass

In cases where it is not supposed to read azimuths from the compass, but only track the course, travel compasses are used. The directional compass is convenient for use on boats, in aviation, sometimes it is put on cars, i.e. where it is necessary to accurately maintain the compass heading.

Traveling compasses are card compasses. This means that the direction is indicated by a freely rotating ring card, on the lower surface of which one or more arrows are fixed. The card itself is divided into degrees, it can have a beveled edge, so the readings can be read from above and behind.

The heading line is a vertical mark accurately aligned with the bow and stern of the vessel and therefore indicates its course. The compass is positioned so that it is constantly in front of the helmsman's eyes. To maintain the compass heading, the helmsman must turn the bow of the boat until the heading line is aligned with the desired bearing on the compass card.

On marine vessels, the size of the compass is not critical, so marine compasses are rather bulky. For yachts, boats and kayaks, quite compact models are produced.

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