Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1909-10-19
MARINERS COMPASS,
Little Known OF the Real Origin oil
the instrument.
'lTS USE BY THE CHINESE.

This Wonderful People Knew of the
Magnetic Needle Long Before the
Christian Era-The Claims Of Gioia
the Pilot, aad the Credit Due Him.
Much interest must forever attach tc
the discovery OF that valuable instru
meDt the mSCiaers compass. aud vet
there are few subjects concerning
which less is known. For period the
abonQr 81 the inVeatiou was ascribed Ia
GiOfd, A pilot, bora at Pasitano, a
'small village situated near AmalG,
about she ead OF the thirteenth cen.
itury tvs claims, however, have been
disputea
Nigga learning and labor have been
bestowed upon the subject Of the dis
G9Yery Il has been maintained by one
class That even tbe PhQenicians were
the inventors. By an0theC that the
Greeks and Romans had a knowledge
Of II. SUCH RQti9gs, koWever, have
been cArDleielF refsied.
nng - naszs:ses qeSssssseEs, Of a re-
,iaRrkRb6 &izTstsssT essccfsFS In The works
Of CardSoa &c WHY. kisS9Q OF Ptole-
Tnais. q bStia Hg Ee%t - Palestine
during NE fQErtA GxssNe, abOu4 The
year 1903. lie retSrnea sfterTafd to
%arspa asd ssbsSsarsfg back 70 the
NHOly Land, TTtfeTe be wrote 1is work
emitted HfSistoria OrieHtaiis." MS near
= Iy as can be determined, between the
years 1915 and 1920. In chapter 81
OF that work he has this Singular pas
sage:
''The iron needle, after csGtact with
{. the lOadstORe. constantly turns to the
+; north star. which, at the axis of the
armament, remsias immovable while
the others revOlVe, and hence 1t is es-
sentiaily necessary to those navigat-
ing on the OceOu.'
These words are as explicit as they
, are extraordinary. They state a fact
aud announce a use. The thing, there
fore, which essentially constitutes the
. compass must have been known long
before the birth Of Gioia. In addition
. 10 this fact. there is another equally
fatal to his claim as the original dis
cOverer.
1t is now settled beyond a doubt
that the Chinese were acquainted with
the compass long before the Europe
aus. 1t is certain that there are allu-
sions to the magnetic needle in the
tradtionary period of Chinese history,
about 1000 years before Christ. and a
still more credible account Of it is
found in the reign Of Chiugwang Of the
Chow dynasty. before Christ 1114.
All this, however, may be granted
without in the least impairing the just
claims Of Gioia TO the gratitude Of man
kind. The truth appears to be that
the position Of Gioia in relation to the
compass was precisely that Of Watt iu
relation to the steam engine-tbe ele-
ment existed; be augmented its utility.
The compass used by the mariners
I'm the Mediterranean during the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries was
a very uncertain and unsatisfactory
apparatus. Il consisted only of a mag
netic needle floating in a vase or basin
by means Of two straws on bit of
coEk supporting II Oh the surface Of
the water
The compass used by the Arabians
in the thirteenth century was an in
strument Of exactly the same descrip-
ton Now. the Inconvenience and in
efficiency Of such an apparatus are oh
vious The agitation Of the ocean and
the tossing Of the vessel might render
It useless in moment
But Gioia placed the magneti2ed
needle on a pivot. which permits it TO
turn to an sides with facility. After
ward it was attached to card divided
into thirty-two points, called rose de
vents, and then the box containing it
was suspended in such a manner that
however the vessel might be tossed,
it would always remain HORIZONTAL
Electrical Engineer.