The Chinese invented the Magnetic compass in 400 BC.
Sometime before the fourth century B.C.The Chinese noticed that certain minerals pointed to the south.The Chinese called the mineral lodestone and it was made into a "south point".These were mostly used for mystical purposes.The Chinese made a magnetic compass in the eleventh century a.d., and it spread to Europe and the Islamic world a century later.The magnetic compass was used as an aide to naval navigation during the late Middle Ages.
Every Boy Scout, hiker, and sailor knows that the Earth has a planetary magnetic field.Magnetic north points towards the North Star because the planet's field is aligned with the axis of rotation.
Magnetized objects are attracted to each other.A magnetized object has a north and a south magnetic pole, and the magnetic field lines of force go between the two poles.The north and south magnetic poles are both attracted to one another.The magnets repel one another when they stick together in one orientation.
Similar to other things, compasses are no different.The simplest compass is a magnet that is allowed to hang or float freely so that it can align itself with the Earth's magnetic field.The compass' south pole will try to connect with the Earth's north magnetic pole and so it will swing to the north if allowed.The needle will point north and south if it is shaped like a needle.
Sometime before the fourth century B.C.A Chinese person noticed that the mineral is magnetic.It's not known how this was noticed, but it can be surmised that the magnetite was attracted to another piece of iron.Large pieces of pure magnetite are quite magnetic, and this property is one of the defining characteristics of magnetite.It is not certain when, but it was noticed that pieces of magnetite would spontaneously line themselves up to point to the north and the south.The magnetite had to be suspended on a silk thread or in the water.In some cases, the iron was hammered flat and floated on the water.By the fourth century b.c., there is no doubt that.In surviving Chinese texts from that time, this phenomenon was taken for granted.
The Chinese formed the magnetite into shapes that could be used to point south.The shapes included needles, fish, turtles, and even spoons.The spoon was one of the most common shapes and it was the same shape as the Big Dipper.The Chinese discovered that steel could be magnetized with magnetite and steel needles could also be used in a compass.
The compass was used for over 1,000 years to help align houses and other buildings in accordance with Chinese practices thought to bring luck and positive energy.It was thought that lining buildings up in a certain way would bring good fortune to those living and working in them.It is possible that the forces acting to align a compass with north and south were the same as the builders were trying to harness.It is certain that the first use of magnetic compasses was forgeomancy.
The first devices were made from pure magnetite and had a handle that was the north magnetic pole of the mineral.When set on a bronze platter with a compass directions, the spoon would slowly turn so the handle would point south, giving builders an accurate alignment for a new building.
The Chinese army realized it could use the device to help soldiers maintain their bearings on cloudy days.The use of lodestone was not new."When the people of Cheng go out to collect jade, they carry a south-pointer with them so as not to lose their way" is the first definite mention of a compass in world literature.The military did not notice this use until several centuries later.The earliest mention of this use is in a book written in 1044.In a book written in the tenth century a.d., the first use of a compass in marine navigation is noted as a common fact.The use of dating back for many years suggests a more recent innovation.
The compass was a huge improvement over existing tools in these uses.It didn't make navigation possible or reliable, but it made navigation more reliable under all conditions.No longer would a ship have to worry about its direction of travel because the captain could just float a needle and figure it out.At that time, ships rarely sailed out of sight of land, so most navigation consisted of looking for familiar landmarks.The compass was more of a navigation aid than a revolutionary device.The magnetic compass came into its own in the 15th century.The magnetic compass was indispensable when ships sailed for days or weeks out of sight of land.
The impact of the increasing use of compasses was less obvious.In their quest to make better and more reliable compasses, the Chinese began experimenting in a number of areas.They were able to improve steel-making techniques and make important observations about the physics of magnetized materials that were several centuries ahead of the rest of world.
The Chinese noticed that iron could be made magnetic by stroking it with a lodestone.This magnetism faded quickly with time.The Chinese began experimenting with different "recipes" to try to find a steel that would stay magnetized as long as possible.They found that steels of higher purity and with a higher carbon content made the best magnets and that they were harder and more durable than low-carbon Steels.
When steels were heated to red-hot, they would lose their magnetism.The Curie point is named after Pierre Curie, who explained it about a century ago.The Chinese only observed the phenomenon and did not understand it.They made use of their observation a lot.
The Chinese noticed that steels would become spontaneously magnetized when they cooled down.By aligning a steel needle north-south during cooling, it turned into a permanently magnetized needle, suitable for use as a compass.When cooling through the Curie point, the needle picks up and locks in the Earth's magnetic field.The needle's magnetic field can be used as a compass after that.It is likely that the Chinese made no effort to understand the physics behind the phenomenon.Their understanding of science at that time was not up to the task and their explanations would likely have been more like magic or superstition than what we consider science.This is immaterial because they were the first to notice the phenomenon and use it.Without the initial observation there is nothing to try to explain, and science is not advanced.The Chinese observations were important to the progress of science.
The Chinese were the first to notice the magnetic and "south-pointing" properties of magnetized materials.They put these properties to use for direction-finding nearly 2,000 years after they first used them.Improvements in Chinese metallurgy were spurred by the use of magnetic materials, and Chinese scientists made some interesting physical observations that further advanced the future manufacture of compasses and other magnetic devices.
Robert Temple.3000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention is the Genius of China.Simon & Schuster was in New York in 1986.
Joseph Needham.There is science and civilization in China.There is a multivolume series.Cambridge University Press was published in 1954.
The Chinese invented the magnetic compass.Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery is the topic of Science and Its Times..There is an Encyclopedia.com.16 April.There is a article at www.encyclopedia.com.
The Chinese invented the magnetic compass.Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery is the topic of Science and Its Times..There is an Encyclopedia.com.April 16, 2021.encyclopedias.almanacstranscripts-and-maps/chinese-invent-magnetic-compass
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