Who invented the compass?
As one of the four great inventions in China, the compass has a far-reaching influence on the development history of China and the world. Compass is a simple instrument for judging orientation, also called compass. Its predecessor is Sina, one of the four great inventions of China and Dai Shan. The main component is a magnetic needle that can rotate freely on the shaft. Under the action of geomagnetic field, the magnetic needle can be kept in the tangential direction of magnetic meridian, and the north pole of the magnetic needle points to the geographical north pole. This property can be used to identify the direction.
The invention of the compass was not achieved overnight, but gradually developed after a long period of hard research and continuous improvement. According to ancient records, as far back as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, due to the great transformation from slave society to feudal society, the productive forces have developed greatly, especially agricultural production, which promoted the development of mining and smelting industries. In the long-term production practice, people have known magnets from iron ore, and later discovered their directionality. After many experiments and studies, a practical compass was finally invented. The compass is influenced by the magnetic force in the earth's magnetic field, so one end points to the south end and the other end points to the north end. China people think that the compass points the way, and Europeans think that the compass points to the north, both of which make sense.
It is almost impossible to find out who invented the compass or compass and Sina. But we can be sure that it existed in the Warring States period, because the fairy tale of the Yellow Emperor was born in the Warring States period. It is generally believed that the directivity of magnets was first discovered by Cishan people near Cixian County, Hebei Province, and practical tools were invented by local people. Because the earth where human beings live is also a natural magnet, the north and south ends of the earth also have different magnetic poles. The north pole of the earth is negative, and the south pole of the earth is positive. According to the principle that like magnetic poles repel and opposite magnetic poles attract, take a magnetic needle that can rotate freely and move specially. No matter where you stand on the earth, its three poles point to the north, and its negative pole will always guide you.
With every new cow, there are all kinds of legends among the people. There are two records about the magnetic field effect of the invention of compass in ancient books.
One is that books and biographies record that Malone led his troops westward to Shaanxi, Gansu, and piled up magnets beside the narrow path that the enemy had to pass through. Enemy soldiers in armor passed by, attracted by magnets and unable to move. Malone's soldiers wear rhinoceros armour, and the magnets have no effect on them, so they can move freely. The enemy thought the magic weapon would retreat without a fight.
The other is: According to the Records of Foreign Objects in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there are some shoals around the South China Sea Islands, which contain magnets, which often attract ships to be "blocked by iron leaves", making it difficult for them to get out. There is also a legend that when Qin Stan built the Epang Palace, one of the palace doors was made of magnets. If an assassin passes by with a sword, he will be caught by Wei Pang at once.
As a pointing tool, compass played an important role in ancient military, production, life, topographic survey, especially in navigation. Compass played an extremely important role in the success of Zheng He's voyage to the West in Ming Dynasty, the opening of new European routes and the discovery of the new continent. Nowadays, compasses are often used in navigation, geodesy, travel and military affairs.