Liquid_compass History_of_the_compass

a surface mount, liquid-filled compass on boat

the liquid compass design in magnetized needle or card damped fluid protect against excessive swing or wobble, improving readability while reducing wear. rudimentary working model of liquid compass introduced sir edmund halley @ meeting of royal society in 1690. however, liquid compasses cumbersome , heavy, , subject damage, main advantage aboard ship. protected in binnacle , gimbal-mounted, liquid inside compass housing damped shock , vibration, while eliminating excessive swing , grounding of card caused pitch , roll of vessel. first liquid mariner s compass believed practicable limited use patented englishman francis crow in 1813. liquid-damped marine compasses ships , small boats used royal navy 1830s through 1860, standard admiralty compass remained dry-mount type. in latter year, american physicist , inventor edward samuel ritchie patented improved liquid marine compass adopted in revised form general use united states navy, , later purchased royal navy well.

despite these advances, liquid compass not introduced royal navy until 1908. version developed rn captain creak proved operational under heavy gunfire , seas, felt lack navigational precision compared design lord kelvin. however, ship , gun sizes continuously increasing, advantages of liquid compass on kelvin compass became unavoidably apparent admiralty, , after widespread adoption other navies, liquid compass adopted royal navy.

typical aircraft-mounted magnetic compass

liquid compasses next adapted aircraft. in 1909, captain f.o. creagh-osborne, superintendent of compasses @ admiralty, introduced creagh-osborne aircraft compass, used mixture of alcohol , distilled water damp compass card. after success of invention, capt. creagh-osborne adapted design smaller pocket model individual use officers of artillery or infantry, receiving patent in 1915.

in december 1932, newly founded silva company of sweden introduced first baseplate or bearing compass used liquid-filled capsule damp swing of magnetized needle. liquid-damped silva took 4 seconds needle settle in comparison thirty seconds original version.

in 1933 tuomas vohlonen, surveyor profession, applied patent unique method of filling , sealing lightweight celluloid compass housing or capsule petroleum distillate dampen needle , protect shock , wear caused excessive motion. introduced in wrist-mount model in 1936 suunto oy model m-311, new capsule design led directly lightweight liquid-filled field compasses of today.