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A device that uses the Earth's magnetic fields to determine the direction north, for navigation purposes. From the location of true north, other cardinal directions can be determined. The compass was first used for navigation in the 1000s in China.
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"Compass bought in Sofia" by Daniel Mietchen is licensed under a GNU Free Documentation License.
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Encyclopædia Britannica Online
N.d. Compass. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/129690/compass, accessed December 12, 2014.