Hey head squeezers, Huw James here I'm currently on the phalanx of Mount Etna on a field trip
to find out the science of an active volcano and whilst I was here for Live Experiments
I thought we'd try to find out some different ways to find north using non-conventional
methods when you're out and about.
So I got a few different ideas here but if you don't want to watch them all, then you
can follow these buttons.
If you're watching it on a desktop or a laptop then make sure your annotations are switched
on.
If you'd like to see me make your very own compass or you can make one for yourself click
on this link here.
If you'd like to see how to find north using the sun using an analogue watch then click
this button here, and if you'd like to see how we find east and west using all the cardinal
points using a walking pole or a stick with the sun click on this button here.
If you're watching on a mobile device and don't have annotations we've got you sorted,
just watch it all the way through alright?
So pick one!
What are you waiting for?
You can choose either the analogue watch method; make your own compass or the walking poles.
Your choice.
So one of the classic ways of finding north, that I always show everyone because I actually
believe is quite cool is with a, one of these, is with a needle.
And in my mountain kit, my first aid kit I always carry a sewing needle even its for
sewing up whatever even if it's clothes or skin or whatever.
You have one of these needles and all you need to do to find north is to magnetise it.
And you can do it with some clothing or if you happen to have a magnet like I do then
you can definitely do it with a magnet.
Now the way to magnetise it is to always push the magnet in the same direction so you always
push that in the same direction.
So I'll push this way and it aligns the electrons inside this needle to make it magnetic in
a particular direction so it should point south and north.
In that kind of direction.
I'm curious as to whether this one is going to work today because we're currently on Mount
Etna and everywhere I seem to sit, we've had to actually move on to this little bit here
because everywhere seems to be that little bit magnetic.
So we have rocks all around that are just little magnets.
So we're gonna put it in this little container, you can do it in a puddle or wherever you
like but it has to float on something.
I'm gonna use a leaf that I pulled off a nearby bush.
If put the leaf in every so lightly, and then the needle on top of it.
What it should do is twizzle around to face the south and north and we can see that this
is actually aligned.
So I got my compass and if I place that on the tubberware box as well.
See that north is directly behind me, south is directly towards you guys.
So we have made our very own compass from just a needle and a magnet and it's a great
way to find north.
Now we don't really use analogue watches anymore in fact I know some people who don't even
know what an analogue watch is.
It's one of these, its one with an hour hand on it and a minute hand on it aswell.
And we actually use that as a compass for finding north.
My normal watch that I take out into the mountains has a compass built in to it, but all I need
is one of these and to be able to see the sun.
in fact the sun is just now setting behind Mount Etna because we are on an active volcano
and the sun is setting behind there.
But to be able to find north is a line of sight to the sun and my analogue watch.
So what I'm gonna do is I'll marry up the hour hand of the watch to the sun which is
actually about there, the hour hand is now pointing at the sun, and the 12 o'clock arrow
is pointing over in that direction to that little sandy cove over there.
And half way between 12 o'clock and where the hour hand is is south so that will be
somewhere in that direction and if I get my trusty compass out and find out which way
is north south east and west.
North is that way, east, south is that way exactly like our analogue watch said, and
west is that way.
So cardinal points from an analogue watch to find out where you are.
So one of the ways you can find north which is a really easy method and one you can definitely
try out for yourself is using a stick or a couple of sticks actually.
I normally go trekking with my walking poles as well, so I normally use one of these for
this method.
And all it is is sticking a stick in the ground.
Seems quite easy right?
You stick a stick in the ground to be able to find east and west so if we put a stick
in the ground just here it casts a shadow and the shadow goes off in that direction.
You see me, the shadow and the stick.
And if I get a rock and put that stick on that shadow, let's say this rock here, nice
big rock, I put it on the shadow, after a while because the sun moves across the sky,
or actually because we rotate as the earth.
The sun moves across the sky, and that shadow will start to move.
So it starts off on that shadow and after time it will start to move across this way.
And what we do then is put another rock in the place where it's turn out to move, you
wait half an hour or so, and then in between those two rocks then is east and west.
So it will find you cardinal points, which way is north and which way is south, and east
and west.
And all you need is a stick and a couple of rocks.
So there you go three different ways of finding north without the conventional compass methods
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channel and you may as well I'm on an active volcano and I'm loving head squeeze.