In this article we are going to explore all facets of Flinders bar, from its origins to its impact today. Flinders bar is a topic that has captured the attention and interest of many people over the years, and its relevance continues to be evident in different areas. Throughout the next few lines, we will carefully examine the most important aspects of Flinders bar, its evolution over time and its presence in today's society. In addition, we will analyze its influence in various fields, offering a complete and detailed vision of Flinders bar that will allow the reader to better understand its importance and meaning in the modern world.
A Flinders bar is a vertical soft iron bar placed in a tube on the fore side of a compass binnacle. The Flinders bar is used to counteract the vertical magnetism inherent within a ship and is usually calibrated as part of the process known as swinging the compass, where deviations caused by this inherent magnetism are negated by the use of horizontal (or quadrantal) correctors.
Where the deviation from a compass point cannot be counteracted through the use of Flinders bar, Kelvin's balls, Heeling error magnets and Horizontal magnets, a deviation card, or graph, is produced. This card, or graph, lists the deviation for various compass courses and is referred to by the navigator when compass courses need to be corrected.
It is named after the English navigator Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) who wrote a paper on ships' magnetism for the Royal Navy. He discovered the addition of a bar of iron would compensate for errors caused by his cargo during his travels to Australia.