Question

What are the benefits and drawbacks to the different kinds of compasses that have been invented?

Answer 1

There are different kinds of compasses that are differently built and have different purposes. We will mention some of them here:

Two main types of the compass are magnetic compass and gyro compass. First one has a magnetic element (needle or a card) that aligns itself with magnetic lines of Earth's magnetic field to point to the magnetic poles of the Earth. Gyro compass has a rapidly spinning wheel whose rotation interacts with the rotation of the earth until its axis of rotation is parallel with the Earth's and points to the Earth's rotational poles. This compass points to the true poles of the Earth. Liquid compass - has a magnetized needle or card immersed in fluid. This method lessens excessive swing and wobble and improves readability while reducing wear.

Marine compass or a card compass - This type of compass has a needle that is fixed and a compass card that is mounted in fluid and rotates according to orientation. It is used on boats because the moving card absorbs much of the motion of a boat which makes it easier to read than a needle compass. Prismatic compass or lensatic compass - has a glass prism or a lens and a lid that has a hairline. These are used for lining up with an object whose bearing is sought. It also has compass card which rotates in the base. When the compass card stops, the required bearing is read off through the prisms or lens. Some of them have liquid as a damping mechanism while other use electromagnetic induction for the same purpose. Some also have tritium and a combination of phosphors which help to read of the compass in the dark.

Base plate compass or Orienteering compass - is a liquid filled compass placed on the rectangular base made of transparent plastic so a map can be read through it. It often has a magnifying lens for map reading, some sort of light for low light conditions and a ruler. It is often used for plotting.

Answer 2

Answer:Disadvantages

It is less precise compared to other advanced methods of surveying.

It is easily subjected to various errors such as errors adjoining magnetic meridian, local attraction etc.

Imperfect sighting of the ranging rods and inaccurate leveling also causes error.

ADVANTAGES: Does not require any electrical power to function (except for night illumination), therefore is not affected by the loss of power. Tends to be more stable than a fluxgate compass. Usually, the bigger the compass card diameter on a magnetic compass, the more stable, (and also the easier to read)