What is a compass - every schoolboy knows. The lessons of geometry and drawing cannot do without it. Every student of a technical university has ready-made sets. But who invented this tool, how did the compass appear? The fact that circles are drawn by him is clear from the Latin word circulus, from which the name of the instrument comes. When did mankind have a compass?
Myths and legends of Ancient Greece
The legends of Ancient Greece briefly narrate how the compass appeared. Each of us knows the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus. But few have heard that Daedalus also had a nephew Talos, the son of his sister. The talent for invention was in their blood: after his death, the nephew left two rods connected to each other and capable of drawing a perfect circle. This was the first compass.
Talos invented the potter's wheel when he was only 12 years old. He also owns the creation of a saw: for this his feat is the skeleton of a fish. If not for the death of Talos at a young age, many of the tools or mechanisms known to us would have appeared much earlier. But historians saythat the instrument is at least 3,000 years old. The Assyrians and Babylonians used compasses and a ruler in architecture, depicting straight lines and regular circles, on temples, house walls, on dishes and goblets. History does not name a specific source that tells how the compass appeared, but without it it was impossible to draw an even circle either three thousand years ago or now.
Archaeological finds
Archaeologists, during excavations, find various evidence of the ancient origin of the compass. While studying an ancient burial mound in France, archaeologists found an iron tool that was at least 2,000 years old. The Greek city of Pompeii, buried under the ashes, became a confirmation of the antiquity of the compass: many of these tools made of bronze were found under the ashes. But similar finds also took place on the territory of Russia: during excavations in Novgorod, archaeologists discovered a compass - a chisel made of steel. What were the instruments used for by the Novgorodians? In ancient times, in Russia, patterns from regular circles were very fond of, and they applied them using this tool.
About how the compass appeared, the history of its origin in these places - all this is unknown. Trade relations with Byzantium were established by the Prophetic Oleg: thus, other interesting devices could appear in Russia. Interesting is the fact that the design of the tool has not changed much. Throughout the centuries of compass use, only tips were added to its base, which strengthened the stylus and lengthened it.legs.
Construction and architecture
Modernization of the tool allows you to increase the circumference to 60 cm, with the initial growth of the compass - 12 cm. On the ancient temples, it is especially clearly seen that since the compass appeared, the design of buildings and domes has become ideal. On the facade of the ancient Georgian temple of Svetitskhoveli, you can see the image of the architect's hand, behind which the tool is visible.
It is architects, civil engineers who are the main users of the tool, without which nothing can be built. Compasses and a square are drawing devices that designers work with. Without them, arched structures, stained-glass windows on the temples of the Middle Ages would not have been created: at Notre Dame Cathedral or St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
Tool variety
How the compass appeared, a summary of the legend of the invention, all this is described above. It is also said that its design remained unchanged. But it is impossible not to notice that many analogues of the classical compass have appeared. They are intended not only for drawing circles, but also for other purposes. For example, a marking compass: with its help, linear markings are transferred. Or a caliper. It is needed in order to be able to draw such small circles that indiameter can be 2 mm. If you need a drawing made in ink, then the stylus can be easily replaced with a drawing pen.
Caliper - for measuring circles of different diameters. To measure the scale on a map, you need a proportional compass. Cartographers, navigators, navigators all use this unique tool. There is also a tool called "Navigator".
Medical use
Since the time when the compass appeared, it has not undergone fundamental changes, but its scope has expanded significantly. Medicine is a science in which different types of this instrument are used. There is a thick compass: it can be large and small. They serve to measure the body and head of a person, its transverse dimensions. The caliper is used to measure the thickness of subcutaneous fat. Especially often it is used in obstetric practice: the size of the pelvis of pregnant women is measured. Weber's compass is already a tool for psychophysiologists: it measures the threshold of human skin sensitivity.
Astronomy and symbolic usage
In our firmament there is also a constellation called "Compass". It is located in the southern hemisphere, very close to the constellation α-Centaurus. It is very small. It cannot be observed over the territory of Russia. The Greek patroness of astronomy, the goddess Urania, has a symbolic designation in the form of a globe and a compass.
Eversince the compass appeared, it has become a symbol of justice. Like a square, a circle means the limits of straight lines. By itself, the figure of a circle with a dot in the center is justice and the source of life. Well-known to all masons or masons, they took two important engineering tools into their emblem - a square and a compass, combining their images. They symbolize the earth and sky, and in the center is the letter "G": the geometer or the Supreme Being.
The Chinese use the image of a compass, which symbolizes their correct behavior. The Chinese emperor Fo-hi, who was considered immortal, used a compass in his paraphernalia, and his sister used a square. And together they mean "yin" and "yang": the harmony of life.
From the most ancient times, the square was considered a symbol of the physical body of a person, and the circle - his spiritual state. Thus, a circle drawn with a compass is a symbol of the perfection of the human soul.
