Last time I wondered what if a woman took viagara. Now it's something a bit more simple. If you you took a compass into space which way would it point? With no magnetic field or gravity in space, which way?
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It turns into a polar-bear. Because everybody knows that inside a compass is a polarbear trying to find home, but when the magnetic field is gone, the curse is broken and the bear is free. Then he flies you to the planet of polar bears.
Speculation:
It depends on how space is defined. Also if you are in a spaceship holding the compass to observe it or if is floating in space by itself.
If you are in low earth orbit, you will still be in the Earth's Magnetosphere and I suspect it will still work. You would have to clear the magnetosphere to lose it's influence. If you managed that, but are in a space craft, that space craft may have equipment on it that creates a magnetic field to cause the compass to move. Of course at that point it would be useless for any sort of directional orientation. But it would still move/work.
If it is floating in space by itself outside of a magnetoshere...it really has no purpose and/or has no influnce to cause it to change. Plus it would be open to the harh enviroment of space that would more than likely to cause it to mechanically fail at least in open space, if not permanently if ever recovered.
It depends on how space is defined. Also if you are in a spaceship holding the compass to observe it or if is floating in space by itself.
If you are in low earth orbit, you will still be in the Earth's Magnetosphere and I suspect it will still work. You would have to clear the magnetosphere to lose it's influence. If you managed that, but are in a space craft, that space craft may have equipment on it that creates a magnetic field to cause the compass to move. Of course at that point it would be useless for any sort of directional orientation. But it would still move/work.
If it is floating in space by itself outside of a magnetoshere...it really has no purpose and/or has no influnce to cause it to change. Plus it would be open to the harh enviroment of space that would more than likely to cause it to mechanically fail at least in open space, if not permanently if ever recovered.
There's plenty of magnetic activity in space. Gravity has no bearing on how a compass functions save for the fact that the needle needs to be free to spin.FolkLikePanda said:
HeheJulianking93 said:
Theres a site called Let me Google that for you.
It is explained on the site
Google it to get there for extra irony
The compass will point towards the nearest (or strongest) magnetic field. If there are no magnetic fields around (or only a very weak one) then the compass will stay sill, or swing freely when you move it.
Even in space it is possible to find magnetic fields. As has already been said, you might still be in range of the Earth's magnetic field, and close to electric circuits there is also a magnetic field.
Even in space it is possible to find magnetic fields. As has already been said, you might still be in range of the Earth's magnetic field, and close to electric circuits there is also a magnetic field.