The Compass: How a Small Navigational Instrument Changed the Face of the Earth
explanatory Essay
1582 words
“Navigation, in its simplest form, means to find your way to a point and back again.” For much of human history, naval navigation consisted of travelling on rivers and waterways, and when at sea, following the coastline so to not get lost. The compass changed that; sailors could boldly sail into the middle of an Ocean, and know that if they headed west, all they had to do to return was head east. The compass itself is a simple navigational instrument that contains a magnetic component that aligns itself with the Earth’s own magnetic pole, allowing the user to know the directions of North and South, and subsequently East and West. Due to the ease of use, and the efficiency of the compass, it played a major role in the Age of Exploration, and ergo played a major role in the shaping of today’s world. Due to its high importance, the compass was the most significant advancement in the field of navigation before 1350 A.D. Before detailing the reasons for the importance of the compass, it is important to first know about its creation. The Chinese first created a compass-like instrument during the Han dynasty between three hundred and two hundred BC. The Chinese made these rudimentary compasses out of lodestone, whose magnetic properties the Chinese had already discovered by circa 300 B.C. It was then fashioned into a ladle shaped, and laid on a flat bronze plate. While the compass was not primarily used for direction, it was used in such manner as early as four hundred B.C., as evidenced in The Book of the Devil Valley Master where the jade hunters were described as taking a “south pointer” so to not get lost. However, the Chinese only began to use the compass in large scales for naval and terrestrial navigation around the eleventh... ... middle of paper ... ...ers, 2002. Lowrie, William. "Historical Introduction (Page 281)." In Fundamentals of geophysics, . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997 Magnet Lab. "Related Electricity & Magnetism Pages." National High Magnetic Field Laboratory: Museum of Electricity and Magnetism. http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/museum/chinesecompass.html (accessed April 22, 2014). Merrill, Ronald T., and M. W. McElhinny. "Chapter One: History of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism." In The Earth's Magnetic Field Its History, Origin and Planetary Perspective, . London, UK: Academic Press Inc., 1983. Tyson, Peter. "Secrets of Ancient Navigators." PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/secrets-of-ancient-navigators.html (accessed April 27, 2014). US Navy Museum. "Navigation." Navigation. http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/teach/ends/navigation.htm (accessed March 22, 2014).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the compass was the most significant advancement in the field of navigation before 1350 a.d.
- Explains that the chinese created a compass-like instrument during the han dynasty between three hundred and two hundred bc.
- Explains the advantages of the compass compared to earlier methods of navigation, early tools, and those used at the time.
- Analyzes how the compass is superior to other navigational instruments at the time, as it did not require any prerequisite to work, and it was extremely simple to use.
- Explains that the compass was an extremely significant development in navigation due to its impact on the world.
- Explains that the compass played a fundamental, albeit indirect, role in the sciences. it originated from the pre-existing knowledge the chinese had of the magnetic properties of lodestone.
- Explains that the compass was the most significant development in navigation before 1350 a.d. it aided the greatest explorers and laid the groundwork for advancements in physics.
- Explains that the compass played a major role in european colonization efforts, such as the spanish and portuguese.
- Explains the riddle of the compass: the invention that changed the world.
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