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Compass, Song Dynasty

The first compasses were made of lodestone, a naturally magnetized stone of iron, in Han dynasty China (202 BC -220 AD). The compass was later used for navigation during the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279). Shen Kuo made the first known explicit reference to the magnetic compass-needle and the concept of true north. He wrote that steel needles were magnetized once they were rubbed with lodestone, and that they were put in floating position or in mountings; he described the suspended compass as the best form to be used, and noted that the magnetic needle of compasses pointed either south or north.
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Title:
Compass, Song Dynasty
Caption:
The first compasses were made of lodestone, a naturally magnetized stone of iron, in Han dynasty China (202 BC -220 AD). The compass was later used for navigation during the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279). Shen Kuo made the first known explicit reference to the magnetic compass-needle and the concept of true north. He wrote that steel needles were magnetized once they were rubbed with lodestone, and that they were put in floating position or in mountings; he described the suspended compass as the best form to be used, and noted that the magnetic needle of compasses pointed either south or north.
Credit:
Album / Science Source / New York Public Library
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Image size:
3900 x 3937 px | 43.9 MB
Print size:
33.0 x 33.3 cm | 13.0 x 13.1 in (300 dpi)
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