Eli5 how does a compass works

500 views

And why is north, north

In: 0

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A compass is basically a magnet. As you know magnets align with one another when in close proximity. The north of one magnet, is attracted to the south of another and vice versa.

The magnet in a compass has arrows corresponding to the north and south. So it uses the earth’s magnetic field (Formed due to our molten core) and gets aligned to that.

North being north on the compass is because if you treat the earth as giant magnet, the top is north and the bottom is south. So your compass pointing to it, shows north.

You are viewing 1 out of 3 answers, click here to view all answers.