Surely you had to deal with such a situation when you need to determine where the north is, where is the south and the rest of the world, but there is no compass at hand. It turns out that the simplest compass can be made with your own hands from scrap materials that are sure to be found in any home.
Necessary
- - sewing needle;
- - a container for water made of any material, except metal;
- - a piece of foam rubber, foam or cork;
- - battery and wires;
- - magnet.
Instructions
Step 1
Take any non-metallic container, fill it with fresh water and place it on a horizontal surface. After that, cut out a piece of foam rubber approximately 3X3 cm in size. If you did not find foam rubber, cut a flat circle from the cork or foam. In this case, carefully saw through a small groove in the cork or foam with a file.
Step 2
Magnetize the sewing needle by applying it to the magnet for 10 minutes. Or wrap the needle with insulated wire and connect the ends to the battery terminals. Note that north will indicate the end of the needle that was attached to the magnet or connected to the negative pole of the battery. To keep this in mind, mark this end with easy-to-wash paint.
Step 3
With a needle prepared in this way, carefully pierce the foam rubber in the center or put the needle in the groove on the cork or foam. Dip the structure into a container of water. After a while, after making several rotations, the needle will stop in a certain position. The magnetized end of the improvised arrow will point to the North, the opposite end, respectively, to the South, on the right side there will be East, on the left - West. In order to demagnetize the needle, keep it on fire for a while over a gas burner or electric stove.
Step 4
If you need to make an impromptu compass in nature, for example, on a camping trip, do about the same. Use small pieces of tree bark and dry straws as a float. Take electromagnets in the speakers of radios or music players. Batteries are also found in any radio equipment, in flashlights and other items that use electricity.
Step 5
In nature, you may need to protect your compass from moisture. Use food-grade self-adhesive wrap or a plastic bag. Fasten the cellophane around the dishes with water using a thread or thin elastic band.
