How
Compasses Work
No
matter where you stand on Earth, you can hold a compass in
your hand and it will point toward the North Pole. What an
unbelievably neat and amazing thing! Imagine that you are in
the middle of the ocean, and you are looking all around you in
every direction and all you can see is water, and it is
overcast so you cannot see the sun. How in
the world would you know which way to go unless you had a
compass to tell you which way is "up"? Long before GPS
Satellites and other high-tech navigational aids, the compass gave humans
an easy and inexpensive way to orient themselves. |