The Invention of the Compasss
In the history of China there were four
major inventions and three of which were invented during the Sung dynasty.
These three innovations were gunpowder, printing and paper, also called
typography and the compass. The Compass was a very important invention that was
needed for traveling and other activities. The compass vehicle, which was an
earlier primitive form of the compass, consisted of moving parts like gears,
ropes and wheels to find magnetic north. The compass was first mentioned in a
book in 1086, the book was called “Dream Pool Essays” by Shen Kuo of the Sung
dynasty.
The idea of the compass was brought
to Europe from China shortly after its invention. It was being used in the
Mediterranean as the 12th century. The first record of the compass
in a book during the Sung dynasty was about a century before the compass was
first mentioned in Europe in 1190. In Europe people were using the compass but
most didn’t know how it worked.
Even today the compass changes people’s
lives every day and makes them easier. When the compass was invented, even
though they might have had an estimate on where north was it made trade,
traveling and many other essential activities much easier for them. Also today
people still use the compass to find magnetic north. If someone is on a hike
and gets lost, using a compass will help get them back to where they are supposed
to be. If a sailor did not have a compass on the boat and he was in the middle
of the sea he would have no idea where to go without it.
(http://toptenplus.com/category/misc/inventions/)
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