Solid Brass Hanging Compass 8"

Delight the engineer in your life with this vintage brass compass and let them marvel at the historic and fascinating tools that lead to the discovery of the new world. Perfect for the technically minded, these brass compasses demonstrate two very simplistic, yet amazingly inventive and revolutionary devices. The compass, little changed in its 3000 year history, demonstrates the ingenuity of ancient civilization. Created in China the early compass was often a simple needle on a piece of cork, or tied to a silk thread, later becoming the single most important navigational tool in history. Utilizing the Earth’s magnetic field to point the way the brass compass came to revolutionize life at sea, allowing ships to explore the vast expanse of the ocean and steer a correct course without the need for points of reference. Similarly, the gimbal is a spectacular device that earned its keep aboard countless vessels. Using concentric rings, each with an axis along one of the dimensional planes, the gimbal allows for the stationary and upright position of an object to remain as a ship moves in any direction. Each of these brass compasses highlights the technical advancements made in sailing; tools and devices so important that they are still used even today. For that special someone who is fascinated by how things work, these brass compasses make a remarkable and thoughtful gift.