A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass based on a fast-spinning disc and the rotation of the Earth that finds true geographic north automatically, rather than the magnetic north a conventional compass points toward, and it is unaffected by the ferromagnetic steel of a ship's hull. The German inventor Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe built the first workable gyrocompass in 1906, and the American engineer Elmer Sperry patented his own competing design in 1908; the German Imperial Navy adopted the instrument in 1908 and the United States Navy followed in 1911. The gyrocompass became a standard navigation instrument on ships and later aircraft, valued for pointing to true rather than magnetic north.
Facts
YearRecords Hermann Anschutz-Kaempfe's usable design, built in Germany in 1906 and successfully tested in 1908 before wide use in the German Imperial Navy; an earlier, not-yet-practical form was patented in 1885 by Marinus Gerardus van den Bos, per the same source. SignificanceThe gyrocompass was an important invention for nautical navigation because it allowed accurate determination of a vessel’s location at all times regardless of the vessel’s motion, the weather and the amount of steel used in the construction of the ship. 1 Connections
Associated With
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In Field
Source Gyrocompass (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Held Differently
Elmer Sperry, Engineers Why this is disputed. Patented a competing gyrocompass design in 1908, two years after Hermann Anschutz-Kaempfe built the first workable gyrocompass in 1906.
Sources
1. Gyrocompass (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, opening sentence
A usable gyrocompass was invented in 1906 in Germany by Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, and after successful tests in 1908 became widely used in the German Imperial Navy.
History section, closing sentence
The gyrocompass was an important invention for nautical navigation because it allowed accurate determination of a vessel’s location at all times regardless of the vessel’s motion, the weather and the amount of steel used in the construction of the ship.
In Field: Marine Engineering, Introduction
Gyrocompasses, such as the fibre optic gyrocompass are widely used to provide a heading for navigation on ships.
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