1. The merchants of older times used a magnet whose north-south side was known.
2. When the magnet is freely suspended, the north pole of the magnet settles in the direction of the geographic north pole of the earth.
3. This is how the merchants come to know the directions while travelling.
4. The idea for using loadstone in a compass first appeared in China.
5. The first compass were made of loadstone, a naturally magnetised ore of iron.
6. The Chinese used “south pointing spoon” which when thrown upon the ground comes to rest pointing at the south.
7. Then the transition was made from loadstone spoons to iron needles.
8. In the medieval period a magnetic needle in the shape of a fish, floating in the bowl of water was used as a compass, pointing south.
9. It was called floating compass.
10. In the twentieth century, liquid filled magnetic compass began to appear.
11. There is a lesser known compass called dry mariners compass.
