What way does a compass point at the South Pole?

Answer 1

Compasses don't work at the south pole. No matter what direction you face they indicate north so they are basically useless there.

Answer 2

Because earth has it's own magnetic field. And magnetic vectors are pointing from south pole to north pole (or the opposite.. I don't remember). In compas the arrow is a magnet. Magnets will orient themselves so that they are aligned with magnetic pole vectors. Though, You should remember that they are not pointing to real North pole, but to magnetic pole which is not the same as a real North pole. At any point in the earth you have some kind of Magnetic deviation, which should be considered. It's very important for navigation (for ships an for airplanes). So remember. Compass shows the magnetic pole. To know where the true north pole is you must add the magnetic deviation at the given point on the earth (it is either negative or positive). When the compass is being used for local navigation (like during wood trips) you can ignore the deviation, because it would not change significantly, unless you are traveling really long distances (like 1000 miles :) ).

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I think if you are at the exact magnetic north pole of the earth (geographic south pole), the needle has no real preference in terms of orientation unless you tilt it a bit in which case, the tail of the needle points downwards cos the south pole of hte needle is attracted the magnetic north pole.

As you approach the magnetic poles of the earth a compass will stop working entirely, preferring instead to jam itself vertically in its case. This is actually one method of determining the location of a magnetic pole, using a kind of vertical compass called a "dip magnetometer." When the dip needle is straight up and down, you're there. One method to find the magnetic poles is by measuring the direction of the Earth's magnetic field at observatories around the world, and then computing the pole locations mathematically. In theory, this should be very accurate because it's based on a lot of measurements.

Answer 4

If you're on the exact polar opposite, then it has a downward force, making it look like it's being pushed down instead of a actual LEFT, RIGHT, UP, or DOWN