Shen Kuo · Science
Shen Kuo gave the first clear description of the magnetized compass needle - and noticed something no one had recorded before: it does not point due south, but leans a little east. That single sentence is the discovery of magnetic <em>declination</em>, centuries ahead of Europe.
You learned that Shen Kuo described how to magnetize a needle, compared four ways of mounting it (settling on silk-thread suspension as best), and recorded that the needle deviates slightly east of due south - the earliest known observation of magnetic declination. Explain what declination is and why noticing it matte…
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