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The history of the compass started more than 2000 years ago during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). The first compasses were made of lodestone, a naturally magnetized stone of iron, in Han dynasty China. [1] [2] It was called the "South Pointing Fish" and was used for land navigation by the mid-11th century during the Song dynasty (960 ...
The first mention of a compass in Europe was in 1190 AD by Alexander Neckam. He described it as a common navigational aid for sailors, so the compass must have been introduced to Europe some time earlier. Whether the knowledge came from China to Europe, or was invented separately, is not clear.
[32]: 351–2 The first mention of use of the compass in Europe was in 1180. [32]: 382 The Europeans used a "dry" compass, with a needle on a pivot. The compass card was also a European invention. [32] Pintle-and-gudgeon stern-post rudder of the Adler von Lübeck (1567–1581).
Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word portolan comes from the Italian portolano , meaning "related to ports or harbors ", and which since at least the 17th century designates "a collection of sailing directions".
Montage of 8 pages (the third to sixth leaves) of the original 1375 Catalan Atlas Detail of the Catalan Atlas, the first compass rose depicted on a map. The Catalan Atlas (Catalan: Atles català, Eastern Catalan: [ˈatləs kətəˈla]) is a medieval world map, or mappa mundi, probably created in the late 1370s or the early 1380s (often conventionally dated 1375), [1] [2] that has been ...
A modern military compass, with included sight device for aligning. A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with magnetic north.
This was the decisive step in human history to make compasses more useful for navigation, and may have been a concept unknown in Europe for another four hundred years (evidence of German sundials made circa 1450 show markings similar to Chinese geomancers' compasses in regard to declination). [7]
A circumferentor, or surveyor's compass, is an instrument used in surveying to measure horizontal angles. It was superseded by the theodolite in the early 19th century. [1] A circumferentor consists of a circular brass box containing a magnetic needle, which moves freely over a brass circle, or compass divided into 360 degrees.