Compass

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Liquid filled compass
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Liquid filled compass
A drawing compass
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A drawing compass

A Compass can mean one of two things:

[edit] Pointing Direction

A magnetic compass points in the direction of the North Pole (strictly speaking, the Magnetic North Pole).

A compass is very useful for navigating on oceans and in deserts, or other places where there are few landmarks.

[edit] Drawing Circles

A drawing compass is a drawing tool that can draw circles and arcs (incomplete circles) on sketches and diagrams.

It consists of two legs joined at a hinge.

One leg contains a sharp point used to centre the compass while it turns.

The other leg contains some kind of screw fixture that can hold a pen or pencil.

[edit] Divider

A divider is a drawing compass with two pointed ends, and is used to mark out distances and lengths.

The divider is so called because it can be used to divide a length in two, using theorems of Geometry.