COMPASS: UPSC Daily Important Topic |16 February 2022

COMPASS

◇ A compass point north because all magnets have two poles, a north pole and a south pole, and the north pole of one magnet is attracted to the south pole of another magnet.

◇ The Earth is a magnet that can interact with other magnets in this way, so the north end of a compass magnet is drawn to align with the Earth’s magnetic field.

◇ Because the Earth’s Magnetic North Pole attracts the “north” ends of other magnets, it is technically the “South Pole” of our planet’s magnetic field.

◇ While a compass is a great tool for navigation, it doesn’t always point exactly north. This is because the Earth’s magnetic North Pole is not the same as “true north (Earth’s Geographic North Pole).”

◇ Although the magnetic declination (deviation from true north) does shift with time, this wandering is slow enough that a simple compass remains useful for navigation.