The+Magnetic+Compass

The first magnetic compass was invented in China between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD. The first magnetic compasses were made of lodestone, a naturally magnetised ore of iron. The Chinese discovered that when they hung a piece of lodestone in the air so that it could turn freely, every time it would point in the same direction, the direction of the magnetic poles. After discovering this, the Chinese shaped these pieces of lodestone into ladles, like the one in the picture above. These ladles were then placed on a flat square bronze plate so that the handle of the ladle would always point South. In the center of the plate was a circle that was meant to represent the heavens. The lodestone ladle in the middle of the circle was meant to represent the constellation Ursa Major, or Great Bear, which contains a group of stars known as The Big Dipper. Back then, the magnetic compass was rarely used for navigational purposes. Instead, it was used for finding jewels and sites for houses. Later, in the 11th century AD, compasses were adapted so that they could be used for navigational purposes. Nowadays, this first kind of magnetic compass is very rarely used.
 * The First Magnetic Compass [[image:https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/VGOtEc-7N28kbHq-Z7fapLNGgxpZ7I6ejN2XTdPpYyghKrjOfwk7-Rbl_SLVC_NPtnJH0XlOWJN5AF0rgDgMMtOyIoVXlQ6Gr4Pc394EyaLkAewPyRJ4I2VEOOwvI_I98Q width="350px;" height="188px;" align="left" caption="han_compass.gif"]]**
 * By Mia K-F **