Relationship Between Compass And Magnet

The compass is an important device that is widely used in transportation and land survey, and is used to determine the direction of the world. Compasses operate on magnetic, gyroscopic, or homing principles. The oldest type of compass in history is the magnetic compass, which shows directions relative to the Earth's magnetic field. The relationship between the compass and the magnet starts here. When we say compass, we mean magnetic compass. The compass and its variant, the magnetic compass, are used synonymously. It can be said that the relationship between the compass and the magnet started from the birth of the compass.

A magnetic compass is a magnetized needle used to observe the direction of the earth's magnetic field, to take bearings and to find a position. This needle is contained in a box made of non-magnetic material. As it can be understood from the relationship between the compass and the magnet, they are complementary to each other, especially with the magnetic compass.

It is a device that shows direction by keeping its needle fixed at all times, depending on the direction of the earth's magnetic fields. The rod or needle in the middle of the compass, which we call the needle, has a magnetic structure suspended without friction. Since the magnetic lines of the universe want to completely pass the metal bar we are talking about, the metal bar stops rotating in the same direction of the magnetic lines. As the Earth's mannequin lines emerge from the south pole, they enter the north pole by drawing a huge circle in the atmosphere. Earth's magnetic medium is in the form of an ellipsoid imprinted at the poles. This magnetic structure is thought to be caused by currents traveling in the molten magma. As can be seen, the relationship between the compass and the magnet is an interesting subject that leads us to deep and interesting topics, perhaps opening the doors of scientific thought.

The most advanced compass consists of magnets attached to a floating board. The compass is a device that has been known since ancient times, and the relationship between the compass and the magnet has responded to people's need for location determination in history.

The compass differs according to its intended use. Generally, there are compasses compatible with land, aircraft and ship types. The point is, the compass should always be kept horizontally on ships.

Compass Errors

The causes of compass errors are as follows: Generally, it consists of three stages: deviation, rotation, and change. The declination error is related to the fact that the earth's magnetic field becomes more intense and different in angle from the equator to the north and also from the equator to the south. Although the perpendicular components of the Earth's magnetic fields strength are zero at the equator, they begin to grow as they move towards the poles.

Since the force that enables the compass needle to be rotated is the horizontal components of the magnetic field, the horizontal resultant force weakening towards the poles will not be sufficient for the needle to show the correct pole, that is, the full pole.

The variation error consists of the presence of a large amount of iron parts in the environment where the compass device is located, or the presence of cables carrying electric current. Vehicles that have the Earth's magnetic field and the feature of shaking the iron are very likely to have a rotational error. Such errors are corrected with magnet bars called proofreading placed next to the compass. The relationship between the compass and the magnet can be briefly summarized in this way.