Gyro Compass on Ships: Construction, Working, and Usage

A Gyro compass is a form of gyroscope, used widely on ships. It employs an electrically powered, fast-spinning gyroscope wheel and frictional forces, among other factors, to find the true north, utilising the basic physical laws, influences of gravity, and the Earth’s rotation.

Construction of Gyro Compass

The Gyro compass has become an indispensable instrument in almost all merchant ships or naval vessels for its ability to detect the direction of the true north and not the magnetic north. It is comprised of the following units:

• Master Compass: Discovers and maintains the true north reading with the help of a