One person says that when a comapss is taken across the equator, it turns around and points in the opposite direction. Another person says that people in the Southern Hemisphere use the south magnetic pole of the compass to point toward the nearest pole.
Which one is correct and why?
2007-01-27 13:03:12 · 2 answers · asked by Melissa 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
A compass will continue to point in the same direction whether you are north or south of the equator. The reason is that there is a magnetic north and a magnetic south pole the compass itself is a little magnet and thus one end will always be attracted to magnetic north and the other end will always be attracted to magnetic south.
If you don't believe me, take a fridge magnet and hold it near your compass, you see that the compass will point to your magnet.
Hold your fridge maged up about 3 inches off a table then move the compass up and down and around on the table, the north will continue to point to the magnet.
Unless the magnetic field of the earth reverses (and it has many time over the last 10000000 years) your compass will always point in the same direction (north) whether you are north or south of the equator.
2007-01-27 15:48:22 · answer #1 · answered by Christina 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nothing happens to the compass. For the people in the northern hemisphere pole star serves as a navigational aid in the night. because, being on the axis of rotation, it does not move and all stars rotate about it. This direction corresponds approximately to the direction which the north pole of the magnet shows. People in the southern hemisphere do not see this star. They must be having some other pole star situated on the axis of rotation of earth towards which the south pole of the magnet would approximately point to.
2007-01-27 21:18:13 · answer #2 · answered by Let'slearntothink 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋