Compass (Chinese Invention)
By: Karissa Brandenburg
Introduction
Did you know that without the compass Christopher Columbus wouldn't have found America without using his compass. Decades before Columbus sailed under the Spanish flag, compasses were just gaining popularity. Luckily Columbus found a compass because without a compass Columbus would be "lost in sea", but thanks to China he found a America successfully.
Importance and how the compass is useful...
Travel
As you know, Christopher Columbus used the compass to find America, but the compass impacted a lot of other things to, like travel. Still today we use compasses, they look different then the first design, but without compasses we wouldn't fly on planes or drive to places, compasses help a lot with traveling.
Navigation/safety
If your lost in the woods what do you do?
Cry, panic and run around frantically is most likely your answer. But with the compass you can safely make your way out of the woods, and back home. Without the compass do you know how many people would be stuck in the woods? 2,000 a year, but luckily most of them get out using a compass.
Science
Magnetism is one of the first bits of science we learn in school and just about the first thing we discover is that "like poles repel, unlike poles attract. All a compass is, "an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it." Compasses can help find many different experimental substances.
Connecting to today...
Connections
You most likely have used some type of compass, weather it be an app, a GPS or maybe even the first kind of compass. The Chinese used the compass while making The Great Wall of China, which makes China safer and safe from invaders.
The history behind the compass...
The compass was made during the Han Dynasty. The compass was used in Song Dynasty China by the military for navigational orienteering by 1040–1044, and was used for maritime navigation by 1111 to 1117.
Summary...
The compass is important because without the compass explorers wouldn’t have found north America which would have us be living in Europe and Asia. It was also important because it helped the feng-shui. How it helped “ People relied heavily on this instrument to help them with their interior designing because supposedly it told you where to put things (although it seems to me that the northern rooms in your house would be a little crowded and your other rooms a little bare, don’t you think?).”
Conclusion...
In conclusion, you can tell compasses are very important and impacted America in a very good way. Without them we wouldn't be here today. So thank you China!