does a compass still point to the north when you are below the equater?

Answer 1

Yes a compas is a magnet

A magnet has two poles a North and a South.

Magnets are attacted to Poles of the Opposite polarity (N to S, or S to N) and like poles repell each other

The earth has a big magnetic field with a North and South Pole

The compass north of the equator is closer to the North Pole so the compass is attracted by its south pole to the closer north pole of the Earth. We paint that end of the compass magnet Red or give it a point.

Taking that same compass south of the equator it will be closer to the South pole so the compass Noth pole The one with out paint will hav the stronger attraction. This keeps the compass facing North


In addition magnetic lines of force travel from the North to the South pole of any magnet. The lines of force of the compass magnet will line up with the earths .. this also moves the compass into alignment and will explain why a compass will still line up facing borth when you stand on the equator equidistant between the earths North and South Pole.

If you could see the earths lines of force you would note that the magnetic lines of force at the earths surface are not straight lines but are curved. A 3D model would show these curves forming a sphere. The curved lines closely follow the curvature of the earth and this explains why a compass doesnt point down into the ground. The compass is lining up with the magnetic lines of the earth.

Answer 2

Hi:

The answer is Yes and No: depending on the following things:

one: if the Earth Magnetic field as not flipped yet - according to scientist it may be flipping over like it did in the ancient past where today's compass north needle will point south instead

two: Your not over a Iron or Steel depot, the compass will point to it instead in north

three: Your not in a thunderstorm or near electric lines it will cause your compass spin

four : the North or South Magnetic Field didn't move or form at the equator either which in some cases it did for a short time during the Earth's Magnetic flipping

other than that ; than yes it will point North always

Answer 3

Actually, this is not a bad question. After all, the Earth is a sphere, and so once you are below the equator, the direction of magnetic north is "down" or "down-ish" to the ground in your location.
However, the answer is still "YES" because a compass needle does not "point north" ... it aligns with the magnetic field of the Earth, both north magnetic and south magnetic!
Thus, when you are south of the equator, the position of the south magnetic pole attracts the "tail" of the compass needle more than the "point" is attracted to the north magnetic pole, though the effect is the same.
Hope that helps.
As a side note, the magnetic poles are a product of the Earth's mantle layer , which is still molten beneath the crust and moves in relation to the crust and the axis of the Earth's rotation. They are not "true north" and "true south" poles. those are the axial poles and are hundreds of miles from the magnetic poles (which change position constantly).

Answer 4

"For a compass to work properly, the compass needle must be free to rotate and align with the magnetic field. The difference between compasses designed to work in the northern and southern hemispheres is simply the location of the "balance", a weight placed on the needle to ensure it remains in a horizontal plane and hence free to rotate. In the northern hemisphere, the magnetic field dips down into the Earth so the compass needle has a weight on the south end of the needle to keep the needle in the horizontal plane. In the southern hemisphere, the weight needs to be on the north end of the needle. If you did not change the weight, the needle would not rotate freely, and hence would not work properly."
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/faqgeom.shtml#q5c

Answer 5

a compass doesnt actually point directly north, it points towards a magnetic north which is away from true north north by a hundred of so miles, but a compass will still point to that magnetic north regardless of your position on the planet, unless you're right next to a mine of some kind.

Answer 6

yes when you adjust the needle weight, or when you buy a compass for that hemisphere. lf

Answer 7

it will always point north, wherever you are,confusing isnt it!

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

NO~PROBLEM

Answer 10

where else would it point ?

are you a idiot ?