One of the basic principles of the Taoist practice of space exploration, known as “Feng Shui,” is the correct location of your home, as well as the interior inside it, relative to parts of the world. Where is your bed and other pieces of furniture, how is a person positioned while sleeping, where are the flowers, which way do the doors open, and so on. All this, according to Feng Shui, is important for our lives, contributing or hindering our happiness and prosperity. But how can you determine where your apartment is north and where it is south if you don’t have a standard compass at hand? In this article I will tell you how to determine the cardinal directions in an apartment and use a compass online, and what tools will help us with this.
To determine the location of your apartment relative to the cardinal points, and also to understand where the windows of your room face, you can use online card from Google below.
This map with cardinal directions works correctly with the Google Chrome browser and other browsers based on the Chromium core, but when working with Firerox the resource has problems.
Principle of operation of this service is as follows. There is a large compass on the screen, you will only need to find your city on the map, and then your house, and in accordance with the compass image (N - north, S - south, W - west, E - east) see which side of the world you are facing the windows of your home are directed. Then, in relation to this, you can understand how correctly you are sleeping.
Feng Shui believes that if your head is positioned on:
Method number 2. Ask your neighbors where north and south are
If you have recently moved into your home, then neighbors who have lived nearby for a long time may well know where each part of the world is located relative to your home.
Method No. 3. Watch the sunrise and sunset
As you know, our star rises in the east and sets in the west. Because if you stand in such a way that right hand points to the place where the sun rises (to the east), the left one points to the place where the sun sets (to the west), then north will be ahead of you, and south will be behind you. And no online compass is needed to determine the direction of the world in an apartment.
Method number 4. Use a regular needle to determine the part of the world in the apartment
This method involves using a regular magnetized needle instead of an online compass. To do this, you will need NOT a metal bowl with water (or oil), or some kind of floating material (for example, a piece of wood, polystyrene foam, a piece of bark, etc.). And also a pre-magnetized ordinary small needle (instead of a standard magnet, you can use ordinary scissors with which you can magnetize the needle). Place a buoyant material (for example, a leaf) on the liquid in the vessel, and then place a magnetized needle on this buoyant material.
The needle will turn its sides north-south. You can see what it looks like in this video.
Method No. 5. We use mobile applications
For mobile gadgets There are a sufficient number of applications that demonstrate a digital semblance of a compass on user smartphones and can set part of the light in your home. This could be “Compass 360 Pro Free” (Android), “” (Android), “Compass” (iTunes), “Free HD Compass” (iTunes) and other analogues. This mechanism works due to the magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and GPS navigator built into the phone, allowing you to fairly correctly display the location of parts of the world.
The Compass 360 Pro Free mobile application will show you the location of parts of the world Method number 6. Use a regular watch
If the day is sunny and the sun is shining through your window, then direct clockwise hours in the sun. Now if you divide the angle between 12 o'clock and the hour hand in half, then the resulting middle will point south.
Conclusion
In this material, I described several ways to determine the cardinal directions in an apartment, as well as the features of working with an online compass. If you need to quickly determine parts of the world, I recommend using the capabilities of this compass, or installing one of the ones I listed mobile applications. They will allow you to quickly track the location of the cardinal directions in your apartment.
Hello again, dear friends! Guess the riddle!
When this friend is with you,
You can do it without roads
Walk north and south
To the west and east!
Did you guess it? Here's a hint for you! This is a device that helps you navigate the area, not get lost in the forest and find your way back. Well, of course it's a compass!
Someone might smile: why use a simpleton compass today, if in the world latest technologies You can pave the way with modern navigators!
Of course, you need to keep up with the times and make your life easier with the help of fashionable technical gadgets. But what if suddenly in a deep forest the super-conductor’s battery runs out and you don’t have a spare one with you? Or will the GPS connection fail? How then? Even though it may not be useful, each of us should at least know how to use a compass so that we can easily use it when necessary.
Lesson plan:
How did the compass come about?
Before teaching you how to use it correctly a simple device, I would like to briefly tell you who came up with this little thing that helps you find your way.
Where do you think the compass was born? You won’t believe it, but the Chinese are here again! According to some available facts, prehistoric instruments for determining the cardinal directions appeared among them even before our era. Later, from the 10th century, the Chinese used it to determine the right path in the desert.
From China, the compass migrated to Arab sailors, who so needed a guide. A magnetized object placed in water turned to one side of the world.
Europeans found the necessary device to XIII century and improved it. The Italian Gioia made the dial and also divided it into 16 parts. In addition, he secured the arrow on a thin pin, and covered the instrument’s bowl with glass, pouring water into it.
Many years have passed since then, scientists have been improving the compass all the time, but the European idea itself has not changed today.
What types of compasses are there?
The types of guidebooks depend on where they are used.
Magnetic devices
Electromagnetic devices
They operate by magnetic induction and are used in aircraft and ships. They are not magnetized by the metal, so they give less error.
Gyrocompasses
They work using a special device called a gyroscope. This is a device that responds to changes in orientation angle. Such devices are used in shipping and rocketry.
Electronic compasses
This is a new product of recent decades, which already looks more like a navigator, as it picks up a signal from a satellite.
How does a regular compass work?
To learn how to navigate, you need to understand what a regular compass is and how it works. I propose to consider the well-known Hadrian model.
The magnetic device consists of a body and a needle located in the center on which the arrow rests. Most often, this arrow is painted in two colors: one tip is blue and the other is red. A properly working compass always has a blue arrow pointing north, while a red arrow, accordingly, points exactly the opposite - to the south.
It also has a scale. It is called a limb and consists of numbers. The outer scale of numbers is divided by divisions from 0 to 360. This is the degree, or angle, of rotation of the arrow. The direction of movement is determined by it. In addition, the cardinal directions can be signed in Russian or English on the limb in capital letters:
— C or N indicates north,
- Yu or S means south,
— B or E points east,
— W or W shows where west is.
Before using the compass, it is checked. To make sure that your device works without errors, you need to place it on a horizontal surface and wait until the arrow freezes, showing where north is. Bring any metal object. Under the influence of a magnet, the arrow will deflect in its direction. Then we remove the metal from the field of action and observe our arrow.
If our compass is working properly, then the arrow will certainly turn to its original position to the north.
It is important! The magnetic compass should not be used near power lines or near railway tracks. The arrow begins to reach towards the metal, so the mechanism does not work correctly.
Learning to walk by compass
You can learn how to use a compass before going on a long journey with it in your apartment. So, here is a short instruction that will help you master this simple device and use it to return safely from your trip.
Here our work with the compass ends. We go to the next room to pick mushrooms and berries. When the time comes to return home, we take out our compass and begin to look for the right path.
- We place the compass on the palm of our hand. Set the arrow towards the north.
- We build a return line: through the center we connect two numbers: the azimuth point and the one that indicated our initial movement, namely to the “neighboring forest”.
- We return to where the azimuth is directed.
If you have returned to the original point to the conventional landmark, then you can safely go on a trip. If instead of the kitchen where you came from, you suddenly returned to the bathroom, then it’s still too early for you to go to the forest. Need to practice.
It is important! If your path is winding and often turns in one direction or the other, experienced travelers advise dividing it into sections, choosing a separate landmark at each section and writing down its data. It will be easier to return from point to point.
How to transfer a path to a map?
Some tourists find it convenient to follow a map with symbols. Sometimes this is simply necessary when you don’t know the exact coordinates, but Right place depicted only graphically. How to find it several kilometers away? You need to transfer your course to a regular card.
- Place the card on a flat surface.
- Place the compass on top of the map so that you use its edge as a line from your current location to your destination.
- We turn the device until the arrow hits the north indicator. But! The pointer is not on the device itself, but a pointer to the north direction drawn on the map (the so-called geographic north).
- As soon as the arrow of the device connects with the arrow drawn on the map, we look at the number - the azimuth, indicating the place where we are going.
- We remember the destination number and remove the card.
Navigating around the map also helps when you get lost. To do this, just find on paper a landmark near which you are, for example, a river or a road, and using the instructions described above, go to the desired place.
Both the West and the East seduced me.
But I never believed them!
I've walked and sailed hundreds of miles and roads,
But the soul is always eager to go north!
It's true that everyone has a path,
Yes, it’s not often simple and familiar!
And walk along it, don’t get lost, don’t turn aside,
Someone who is magnetized like me can do it!
Are you sure that there is nothing complicated about using a compass?! But this simple device can become an indispensable assistant! Therefore, take it quickly, spin it, train, because summer is coming, and this good time Test your knowledge and have an orienteering competition!
To consolidate the information received, watch the video lesson, and if something was still unclear, then after watching everything will definitely become clearer.
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“ShkolaLa” bids farewell to you for a short time with wishes for good travels!
Evgenia Klimkovich.
There are many ways to determine cardinal directions. Using a compass is the easiest one. But sometimes it happens that the compass is not at hand, or it is lost or broken. In this case, the location of north, south, west and east can be found using other methods.
To find the cardinal directions on a map, you need to remember that, regardless of scale and purpose, north, south, west and east are always located the same way: the north side is always on top, the south is below, the west is on the left, and the east is on the right. If you have a compass, the task is even simpler: you need to combine the route laid out in accordance with the map with its arrows, and follow it on the ground. Orientation on a map is possible without a compass. To do this, you need to go to some object marked on the map: a railway track, a road, a natural body of water, then compare the picture of the area with the one shown on the map, and then plot your further route along it. When approaching a large object, you need to check your direction with what is indicated on the map. This way you can check if there are any deviations from the route.
North, south, west, east: location on the compass
Determining the cardinal directions using a compass is a simple task, provided correct use this device. First you need to remember what symbols cardinal directions are marked. North is denoted by the English letter N, i.e. “north”, south – S (“south”), west – W (“west”), and east – E (“east”). To determine north, you need to turn the arrow with the main side (usually it is painted in Blue colour or simply marked as main) towards the N designation.
To correctly determine the cardinal directions with a compass, you need to follow the rules:
- The device must be held strictly horizontally so as not to cause errors in determining the cardinal directions.
- The compass must be turned carefully until the arrow with the marked end stops at the N mark. The arrow line will thus point to the north and south directions.
- Some compass models are equipped with a special arrow that is fixed in the direction of a given route. Just twist it and follow the direction.
- The built-in compass will help calculate azimuths.
In order not to deviate from the route, you need to choose a large building as a landmark and follow it. Having reached the object, check the compass direction again and move on.
Orientation by celestial bodies
When you don’t have a map or a compass with you, the heavenly bodies will help you navigate the area: the moon, the sun, the stars. The North Pole is where the North Star is located when you face it. Accordingly, the South Pole will be behind you. To find the North Star, special effort no effort is required - in the sky it shines brighter than other stars. It is located at the end of the bucket of the Ursa Minor constellation. Then you need to mark a large landmark in order to correlate its location with the parts of the world indicated by the star. By moving relative to this landmark, you can plot the desired route. When you are in the Southern Hemisphere, you should navigate by the Southern Cross constellation. It consists of five stars, four of which create a cross, slightly offset to the side. If you mentally extend the long axis of the cross formed by two bright stars, to the ground, it will indicate the southern direction. Starting from this landmark, it will not be difficult to determine the other cardinal directions.
It is also easy to navigate by the Sun, knowing the fact that it rises in the East and sets in the West. However, seasonal deviations should be taken into account: in winter it rises in the direction of the northeast, and at sunset it will be located in the northwest. In summer, the Sun moves closer to the south. To determine the cardinal directions, you can use the most in a simple way: stand at noon with your back to the sun so that its shadow falls clearly in front of your face. Thus, the northern side of the world will be in front, the southern side will be behind, and the west and east will be on the left and right, respectively. The same method works with a pole stuck in the ground.
If you need to get your bearings on a non-summer afternoon, you can use following method: two pegs are stuck into the ground at intervals of 15-20 minutes. The place where the shadow of the peg ends is marked on the ground. Then a stick is placed connecting the two marks together. A perpendicular drawn to this line will indicate the north direction.
At night, you can also determine the location of the cardinal directions, and the moon will help. To do this, you need to determine the phases of the moon: in the first quarter the moon is growing, the “horns” of the month will point to the left. The second quarter is full moon, and the third is waning, while the “horns” of the month will be turned to the right, resembling the letter S. The Moon, which is in the first quarter, will be in the south by seven o’clock in the evening, and in the west by one o’clock in the morning. If the moon is full, it will be visible in the east by seven o'clock in the evening, and in the south by one o'clock in the morning. The waning moon is in the east at one o'clock in the morning, and in the south by seven o'clock in the morning.
Orientation using a watch
If you don’t have a compass, you can navigate using another device - mechanical watch. To do this, on a sunny day, holding the watch horizontally, point the large hand at the sun. The angle between this position of the hand and the 12 o'clock mark must be divided in half, the bisector of this angle will be the direction of the North-South line. This definition of north and south refers to the location in the northern hemisphere where the sun is exactly south at noon. If the clock is set to summer time, you should focus not on the 1 o’clock mark, but 1 o’clock, and divide the angle between it and the position of the sun.
Determining cardinal directions based on natural phenomena
Using natural landmarks located in a forest or other area, you can easily determine belonging to different parts of the world. In the forest you can navigate by anthills. Their flat side always faces south, and the anthills themselves are located with south side trees. If you pay attention to the location of moss on top of tree trunks and stumps, you will notice that moss grows mainly from north side. The slopes of the mountains on the southern side are covered with heat-loving trees and plants, for example, oaks and pine trees. The northern slopes are characterized by fir and spruce growing there.
You can observe fir trees: when the weather is hot, resin begins to exude from the southern side of the trunks. Most often, mushrooms grow on the north side near trees.
It is also interesting to watch sunflowers: when the flowers bloom, they turn to the east. In the morning, the soil around large stones is more moist on the north side than on the south. You can find a stump and observe the location tree rings: most often they are shifted towards the north.
Based on natural characteristics and phenomena need to remember that these sources are not 100% accurate, but if you put them together, you can create a clear picture for orientation in parts of the world.
The fastest and most reliable way to set the direction to the north and calculate your route is to use a compass. The magnetic end of the arrow, marked with red, blue, or fluorescent paint, will point north. The degree scale will help translate into numbers and record the chosen direction.
The scale of a conventional compass is divided into 360 degrees. Each degree corresponds to 1/360 of the horizon. Accordingly, there are 90 degrees on each side of the world. The countdown starts at 0 degrees, indicating north on the compass. In some imported compasses, its scale is divided into more exotic nautical bearings, each of which consists of eleven degrees. Therefore, in the “marine” compass scale there are not 360 degrees, but only 32 points, or it’s completely unclear where 60 points came from.
Main directions: North (N) is designated North (N), South (S) – South (S), East (E) – East (O), West (3) – West (W). Accordingly, the directions obtained by dividing each quarter of the horizon in half are called quarter directions. Nord-East (NO) - northeast, North-West (NW) - northwest, South-East (SO) - south-east, South-West (SW) - south-west. The average directions between the main and quaternary directions are indicated by three letters. For example, the average direction between NO and O is called East-nord-east (ONO), etc. But in any case, North (Nord) is always zero. To simplify the work with imported compasses, the total number of directions can be divided into four (according to the cardinal directions) and correlated with the degree scale familiar to us
Everything else is simple. The number “zero” on the degree scale is adjusted to the north arrow by turning the compass around its axis. The schematic map also turns with its top side facing north. On the scale of the compass placed on top of the map, a degree (or rhumb) corresponding to the selected direction is noted. For example, to the nearest locality. Now it is enough to set the sighting device (rear sight and front sight) on the chosen course and move in the indicated direction, but so that the northern end of the arrow is constantly in line with the marks at the zero mark on the scale. If the arrow leaves the target, it means that the person walking has lost his course.
Of course, the described scheme is extremely primitive. In the practice of travel, working with a map and compass acquires many objective and subjective difficulties. To understand them, it is better to turn to specialized literature on orienteering. In emergency conditions, it should be handled with particular care - stored in an inside pocket or under clothing on a strong cord. Carrying a compass in external pockets or on your hand is dangerous, since in this position it is easy to lose it or break the protective glass. If the compass is broken, you should find and save a magnetic needle, with which you can always make an improvised compass from scrap materials.
Based on materials from the book “School of Survival in Natural Conditions.”
Andrey Ilyin.
It was hard for travelers in ancient times! To determine direction, they navigated by the sun during the day and by the stars at night. But what to do if the whole sky is overcast and the weather stays like this for several days? There are ways to find cardinal directions by trees, moss and numerous other signs, but their accuracy is very low.
Nowadays there is no need to use such methods, since humanity has invented wonderful gift everyone who goes on a long journey - a compass. It is not known who and when noticed that a magnetized piece of metal suspended on a thread is always located in the same position: one end to the north, the other to the south. This device became the progenitor modern devices for orientation.
What does a compass look like and what parts does it consist of?
The simplest compass is a magnetic needle that rotates freely on an axis. Have you ever tried to bring two magnets close to each other? On one side they repel, and on the other they attract. A compass works in exactly the same way. The role of one magnet is a magnetized arrow, and the role of the second is the planet Earth! Therefore, the compass needle always points to the North. There is also a liquid compass. It works in exactly the same way, it’s just that the arrow does not rest on the axis, but floats in the liquid. The viscous liquid allows you to avoid constant oscillations of the needle if you are trying to use the compass in shaking conditions (for example, in a moving vehicle).
Using a compass, you can determine the location of the cardinal points, but this is clearly not enough for hiking in other directions, so In addition to the arrow, there are other parts in the design of the device. The compass is housed in a round plastic body with transparent top part, through which one can see dial with divisions. To protect the fragile glass, some compasses have a cover. IN hiking conditions It can be difficult to find such a small but necessary device in a huge backpack, and the designers took care of tourists by providing it with a strap for wearing on the hand. On the side surface you can see a small metal plate, this brake, which secures the arrow in a stationary position. On the movable upper part there is a sighting device - two protrusions, one with a slot, the other with a front sight.
Let's understand the symbols on the compass
The letters on the compass indicate the cardinal directions. Let's look at the limb carefully: the starting point, the direction to the north, is usually indicated by the letter C, then clockwise at equal intervals by the letters B, S and W are marked east, south and west. On some compasses the cardinal directions are indicated in English letters: N, S, E, W- they mean cardinal directions in English:
- N orth - North
- S outh - South
- E ast — East
- W est - West
As you know from the geometry course, a circle is divided into 360⁰, therefore, there are 90⁰ between the cardinal points. If you mark each degree with a corresponding number, visible to the naked eye, the dimensions of the compass will be too large, so marks are marked on the scale every 5⁰, and only values that are multiples of twenty are labeled.
In the center of the dial there is a rotating arrow, the two halves of which are painted blue and red. The red arrow points to the South, blue to the North. Many people get confused, but it’s easy to remember: the South, where it’s warm, is indicated by “hot” red, and the North by “cold” blue. In most instruments, the needle, as well as the main points of the scale, are coated with phosphorus and glow in the dark.
Azimuth is the angle relative to the direction North
Cases when you need to go exactly south or north are very rare, so before you go on a hike, you need to learn how to walk in any direction using a compass. Azimuth will help us with this. To understand what it is, take a map and mark two points on it, let one of them indicate the place where you are, and the second indicate your destination. Connect them with a straight line, and from the point where you are, draw the beam exactly north. The angle between these two lines will be called azimuth, knowing it, you can get to places where the road to which is unknown to you.
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Orientation using a compass
Let's move on to practical issues - using a compass in hiking conditions. Let's say you find an interesting geographical object on the map and want to get to it. First you need to determine the azimuth.
- Determine your location on the map.
- Draw a line vertically upward from this point, this direction is north.
- Place a compass on the map so that its center lies on the point where you are, and the letter WITH(or N) – on the drawn line.
- Rotate the map until the compass needle points north (remember to release the brake).
- While looking through the slot at the front sight, rotate the top of the compass to bring the desired object into the “sight.”
- All that remains is to see what value the pointer arrow is pointing at. If it is between two numbers, take the smaller value; then count the number of divisions from the number to the arrow. Since each of these corresponds to 5⁰, multiply the resulting number by five and add to the value read on the scale.
Now you can write down the azimuth that you determined and put the map in your backpack; you don’t have to keep it in front of your eyes the whole way. You will know the direction of travel using the compass.
- Place the compass on a hard surface. If there are no rocks, stumps or similar objects nearby that are of suitable height, use a backpack standing on the ground. You can set the azimuth while holding the device in your hands, but this will create additional difficulties.
- Release the brake and align the blue end of the arrow with the letter WITH(or N).
- Place the pointer on the azimuth value.
- Look through the slot at the front sight and select a landmark.
You can hit the road. Once you reach a landmark, take out your compass and determine the next one. Continue until you come to the right place.
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The ability to determine azimuth can also be useful if a group is traveling without a map along a known route. Imagine that while you are high in the mountains, you go to explore the neighboring peak. We went light, because we expected to return in a few hours, but all plans were confused by clouds that suddenly covered the lowlands between the hills. It is unknown when they will leave, perhaps this weather will last for several days. What should I do? From above you can clearly see the mountain where the camp is located, but how to navigate in a valley filled with fog? Don’t worry, if you are sure that there are no dangerous cliffs or abysses on the way, your faithful friend the compass will lead you to the spot.
- Position the device so that the blue end of the arrow points to the letter WITH(or N).
- Rotate the top to direct the front sight to the parking area.
- Write down the azimuth value in case the pointer gets lost.
- When moving through the cloud, hold the compass in front of you, make sure the north end of the arrow is aligned with the letter C, and go in the direction that the sighting device is pointing.
Of course, this method is not accurate enough, and it is better not to get into such situations, but if necessary, you can use it. If the distance is short, you won’t pass by the mountain, but without a compass you can go somewhere unknown or circle in one place for an infinitely long time.
If anything is unclear or you want to reinforce the material, watch the video on how to use the compass: