How do compasses work? Why does a compass point north? Because Earth's north magnetic pole is a south-. Artwork: Earth behaves as though it has a giant bar magnet built inside it. read more
The intermediate direction of every set of intercardinal and cardinal direction is called a secondary-intercardinal direction, the eight shortest points in the compass rose that is shown to the right (e.g., NNE, ENE, and ESE). read more
To make a compass, point an ordinary iron nail along the direction of Earth's magnetic field and repeatedly strike it for a few seconds with a hammer or a rock. Then suspend it at its center of gravity by a string. read more