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The magnetic compass was first invented as a device for divination as early as the Chinese Han dynasty and Tang dynasty (since about 206 BC). [1] [3] [34] The compass was used in Song dynasty China by the military for navigational orienteering by 1040–44, [22] [35] [36] and was used for maritime navigation by 1111 to 1117. [37]
Ritchie thought they could be improved upon, and by 1860 had received a U.S. patent for the first successful and practicable liquid-filled marine compass suitable for general use, [10] [11] a development that has been described as the first major advance in compass technology in several hundred years. [12]
Among the Four Great Inventions, the magnetic compass was first invented as a device for divination as early as the Chinese Han dynasty (since c. 206 BC), [1] [2] and later adopted for navigation by the Song dynasty Chinese during the 11th century. [3] [4] [5] The first usage of a compass recorded in Western Europe and the Islamic world ...
The first mention of a compass in Europe was in 1190 AD by Alexander Neckam. He described it as a common navigational aid for sailors, so the compass must have been introduced to Europe some time earlier. Whether the knowledge came from China to Europe, or was invented separately, is not clear.
The compass's origins may be traced back to the Warring States period (476–221 BC), when Chinese people utilized a device known as a si nan to point in the right direction. During the early Song dynasty, a spherical compass with a small needle made of magnetic steel was created after steady development.
The book of the author Zhu Yu, the Pingzhou Table Talks published in 1119 (written from 1111 to 1117), was the first record of use of a compass for seafaring navigation. [ 76 ] [ 78 ] However, Zhu Yu's book recounts events back to 1086, when Shen Kuo was writing the Dream Pool Essays ; this meant that in Shen's time the compass might have ...
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The compass, a cross-staff or ... In 1757, John Bird invented the first sextant. This replaced the Davis quadrant and the octant as the main instrument for navigation.