Compass Clip Art

The compass is an iconic navigation tool that has helped travelers explore the world for centuries. Its simplest form consists of a magnetized needle that aligns itself to the Earth’s magnetic north pole, allowing users to orient themselves. Modern compasses utilize more advanced technology, but still serve the vital purpose of indicating cardinal directions.

Invented separately in ancient China and the medieval Islamic world, early compasses used lodestone, a naturally magnetized mineral, as their directional component. The familiar pivot-needle compass emerged in Europe around 1300 CE for maritime navigation. Today special compasses support endeavors from overland trekking to space exploration.

Types of Compasses

There are various types designed for different needs:

• Magnetic Compass: Most common type, uses a magnetized needle rotating within a protective housing to point towards magnetic north. Comes in compass rose, military-style or sighting compass designs.
• Gyrocompass: Sophisticated gyroscope technology maintains orientation based on spinning discs, used primarily on ships/aircraft.
• GPS Compass: Modern compasses using signals from global positioning satellites to accurately pinpoint location and direction. Enables advanced navigation techniques when paired with detailed digital maps.

Inner Workings of a Compass

The key element that allows compasses to find North is magnetism. A compass needle is itself a permanent magnet, with each end polarized as a north and south magnetic pole. Earth itself produces a vast magnetic field emanating from the north and south magnetic poles. As opposite poles attract, the compass needle aligns to the pull from Earth’s localized north magnetic pole.

Specially balanced and low-friction mounting allows the needle to accurately orient along this magnetic field. The compass housing and dial are then calibrated so readings match up with true north, enabling it to guide navigation.

Using a Compass

Taking directional bearings with a compass requires proper holding technique. The compass must be held steady and flat in front of the user. Rotating their body carefully while keeping the compass fixed brings the needle into alignment, pointing towards magnetic north. Key points on the horizon can then be sighted relative to the compass dial to get accurate directional bearings. With practice, compass bearings enable traversing and mapping unfamiliar terrain.

Compass Accuracy Factors

Compass readings can be impacted by magnetic influences in the immediate surroundings. Objects like vehicles, powerlines and structures with large metal components distort the local magnetic field. For best accuracy, avoid areas with unnatural magnetic interference when taking measurements.

Electrical fields can also cause deflection issues. Testing away from equipment like radios helps obtain a clean bearing. Naturally occurring magnetic minerals in soil and rocks rarely affect readings significantly. But in polar regions near the magnetic poles compasses become unreliable.

Compass Reliability

Though compass designs are robust for field use, certain far-flung locales provide unique challenges:

• At high latitudes near the magnetic north pole, the Earth’s field lines become near vertical, causing unreliable erratic needle behavior. Similar distortion occurs near the south end.
• In locations with abnormal magnetic geology like ore deposits or magnetite-bearing rock, unreliable readings may occur due to magnetic abnormalities.
• Storms with lightning or solar activity that disturbs the ionosphere can temporarily shift magnetic fields felt by compass needles. Caution should be exercised when navigating solely by compass during such events.

Thus for critical navigation in problematic areas other systems like GPS provide prudent redundancy.

Compass Clip Art Overview

Clip art refers to royalty-free stock vector images used widely in graphic design and publishing. Compass clipart comprises artistic illustrations and symbols depicting compasses or compass-related themes available as clip art.

Compass clipart sees frequent use embellishing covers, banners, info-graphics and illustrations relating to travel, exploration, orientation and geography. The images provide decorative compass motifs that visually enrich documents and projects on related topics.

Vintage Compass Clipart

A popular compass clipart subtype features vintage designs with compass imagery from past eras. These include old-timey illustrations of sailors relying on pivoting compass devices aboard wooden ships. Other styles mimic engraving-like drawings of antique pocket compasses and survey equipment from the pioneer-age.

These vintage-styled compass cliparts embed projects with a sense of adventure harkening back to the golden age of exploration using the timeless navigation tool. The retro motifs aptly embellish travel logs, sailing troves and histories touching upon maritime lore involving compasses.

Colorful Compass Rose Clipart

For a more flamboyant look, compass rose clipart offers intricate compass motifs rendered in vivid colors. Compass roses display the four cardinal directions – North, South, East and West – arranged as an ornate wind rose graphic. Decorative compass rose clip arts incorporate maritime symbols like anchors and ships amidst the directions to create visually engaging maritime motifs.

The lush colorful compass roses can magnify nautical themes in dramatic ways. They liven up flyers, brochures, shop signage, event displays and more, conveying cardinal directions with stylish flair.

Compass Tattoo Clip Art

The image of a compass with its connotations of direction and spiritual guidance has also made it a sought after tattoo design. Compass tattoo clip art caters to this trend with stylized graphics of compass tattoos suitable for imprinting on skin or using as tattoo art templates.

From photorealistic designs to abstract ink-style motifs, compass tattoo clip arts make body art planning and tattoo parlour promotional media eye catching. The images combine core compass symbolism with striking graphical elements that fuse beautifully with skin.

In this page clipartix present 75 compass clipart images free for designing activities. Lets download Compass Clip Art that you want to use for works or personal uses.