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Compass: Difference between revisions
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=== Question of Diffusion === | === Question of Diffusion === | ||
[[image:Compass thumbnail.jpg|thumb|right|Navigational [[sailor|mariner]]'s compass]] There is much debate on what happened to the compass after its first appearance with the Chinese. Different theories include: | [[image:Compass thumbnail.jpg|thumb|right|Navigational [[sailor|mariner]]'s compass]] There is much debate on what happened to the compass after its first appearance with the Chinese. Different theories include: | ||
* Travel of the compass from China to the [[Middle East]] via the [[Silk Road]], and then to | * Travel of the compass from China to the [[Middle East]] via the [[Silk Road]], and then to Europe | ||
* Direct transfer of the compass from China to Europe, and then later from | * Direct transfer of the compass from China to Europe, and then later from Europe to the [[Middle East]] | ||
* Independent creation of the compass in the | * Independent creation of the compass in the Europe and then its transfer thereafter to the [[Middle East]]. | ||
The latter two are supported by evidence of the earlier mentioning of the compass in European works rather than Arabic. The first European mention of a magnetized needle and its use among sailors occurs in [[Alexander Neckam]]'s ''De naturis rerum'' (On the Natures of Things), probably written in [[Paris]] in 1190.<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.368</ref> Other evidence for this includes the [[Arabic]] word for "Compass" (''al-konbas''), possibly being a derivation of the old [[Italian language|Italian]] word for compass. | The latter two are supported by evidence of the earlier mentioning of the compass in European works rather than Arabic. The first European mention of a magnetized needle and its use among sailors occurs in [[Alexander Neckam]]'s ''De naturis rerum'' (On the Natures of Things), probably written in [[Paris]] in 1190.<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.368</ref> Other evidence for this includes the [[Arabic]] word for "Compass" (''al-konbas''), possibly being a derivation of the old [[Italian language|Italian]] word for compass. | ||
