The Compass
Sarah G.-Staff Writer
The invention of the compass occurred
during the Qin Dynasty. The compass that was created during the Qin dynasty was
made up of a spoon. The spoon was made of lodestone. The spoon was placed on a
bronze plate. The handle on the spoon always pointed towards the south. The
bronze plate consisted of eight sections. These sections represented north,
south, east, and west, southwest, southeast, northeast, and northwest. As time
progressed the spoon was replaced with a magnetic needle. The compass was used
to tell direction. The needle or spoon would move to the section in which
direction a person was going.
The compass was invented during
200-206 B.C. When the needle was put on the compass in place of the spoon that
is the when sailors stared using compasses. Sometimes when out at sea sailors
would lose track of what direction they were headed. The compass allowed them
to keep track of which direction they were going so that they would not get
lost. China valued education over anything else. That is why the compass was
most common in that region. Trade was a big way to make money. The compass was
not found in any other parts of the world which is why the Chinese were able to
sell their new device with something they needed from another area. As the
compass began getting traded, around the 12th century, the device began to
spread to Arabia. The compass was then spread to Europe, and eventually to the
rest of the world.
The invention of the compass has
improved people's lives. Before, people never knew exactly which direction they
were heading. The invention of the compass changed that. The compass solved the
problem of everyone getting lost. It allowed sailors to know which direction
they were heading off to sea so that they would not end up stranded in the
middle of the ocean. Even today, before GPS's were invented, compasses were
used while hiking or any time when knowing the direction was needed. If it was
not for the compass someone might have not created the GPS we use today. The
compass was the starting point of where telling direction came from and if it
was not for this invention, everyone might still be walking around not knowing
which way they were going.
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