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compass readings in the southern hemisphere

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 jackse 11 Jan 2013
Hi - going to aussieland - will my compass still point to the north
 annieman 11 Jan 2013
In reply to jackse: Yes but it may not be free moving as a compass needs to be balanced specifically for each hemisphere.
 Trangia 11 Jan 2013
In reply to jackse:

Of course it will! Think of the earth's magnetic field.
 nufkin 11 Jan 2013
In reply to Trangia:
> (In reply to jackse)
>
> Of course it will! Think of the earth's magnetic field.

You'd think, wouldn't you? Apparently all is not as my GCE physics suggested, and the magnetic field of the planet is really pretty wonky. There's a number of different zones (five, I think) that compass makers tailor to, so you have to work out which one you'll be in, and buy accordingly.
 GrahamD 11 Jan 2013
In reply to nufkin:

> There's a number of different zones (five, I think) that compass makers tailor to, so you have to work out which one you'll be in, and buy accordingly.

Thats about the tendency of the needle to point towards the ground or the sky. There isn't anything the compass maker can do to stop the needle doing anything but align with the local (predominantly N-S) magnetic field
In reply to GrahamD:

Of course, the local magnetic North may be significantly different to Grid or True North, depending on the local magnetic declination and grid convergence.

Australia isn't too bad, but NZ can be a long way off (20 to 30 degrees).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Magnetic_Declination_2010.pdf
ice.solo 14 Jan 2013
In reply to jackse:

No. The black end will point south.
 Tim Davies 14 Jan 2013
In reply to jackse:

Yes, but the compass needs to be adjusted for the dip of the magnetic force lines if it is to be accurate.

I think.
 krikoman 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Tim Davies: yes they offset the magnetic poles on the compass by a certain amount depending on where you are in the world.

I had a link on it but can't seem to find it at the moment.

You should google magnetic offset.
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