What are different types of compass?

The compass is a device that can determine the direction on Earth, usually used for navigation. The compass can be coped with either the magnetic north or the real north, or occasionally with any direction based on the location of heavenly bodies. The magnetic north is the direction of the northern tip of the Earth's magnetic field, while the right north is the direction in which the Earth turns.

The most common type of compass is the magnetic compass, which is used to determine the direction of the magnetic north. The magnetic compass is made by placing a slightly magnetized iron or steel in low friction to move freely. In most compasses, the northern metal piece is most often marked with red, so all directions can be determined. Chinese managed the use of magnetic iron to navigate until the beginning of the 12th century and its use has spread rapidly to and outside Europe. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Arabs used magnetic compass in navigation and at the beginning of the 14th century Italian created what would be for modern eyes recognizable JAKO compass of a sailor.

Gyrocompass is a special type of compass developed at the end of the 19th century, which is looking for a real north, rather than a somewhat uninvited magnetic north. Gyrocompass is basically a very fast spinning wheel or ball that uses the law to maintain angular momentum and spinning the axis of the Earth's axis to point towards the right north. GyroCompass is commonly used on large ships and in other situations where more accurate reading of the North is required.

Astrocompass is another type of compass that can find true north rather than a magnetic north. AstroCompass relies on the location of the heavenly bodies to find the real north, which is useful in many situations, especially in the far north and the south poles, where magnetic compasses become unreliable and Gyrocompass often ceases to function. One requires fair amount of information to properly use AstroCompass, including time, date and alongand geographical locations as well as an astronomical chart such as naval almanac. Due to this information, the person can correct the known star and determine the exact direction of True North.

In the digital era, the compasses are becoming increasingly common. They use a number of electronic magnetic sensors that calculate the exact direction of the compass.

Compass GPS quickly replaces many traditional compasses for personal use, although most ships and military operations have a GyroCompass or magnetic compass in the case of AGPS cannot pick up enough satellites. The GPS compasses use satellites on geo-synchronous orbit above the ground to recognize the accurate location of the wearer and the direction in which they are heading. For easy use and relative reliability of GPS compass, many tourists and drivers prefer it. As with all electronics, however, the compass GPS is susceptible to a number of problems and it is recommended that most tourists also have a backup form of navigation.