Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 March 1893 — The Lumnious Compass. [ARTICLE]

The Lumnious Compass.

The lumnious compass recently intro duced in the French Aavy consists of an ordinary Thompson compass. During the day it is employed in the usual way, but at night a vertical line of light is thrown from the binnacle light upon the interior side of the compass box, between the card and the glass, by means of acombination of lenses and mirrors. This line is, for the time being, a fixed line, and bears a known relation to the direction of the ship’s keel. From, another combination of lenses and mirrors above the center of the card a second rav of light is thrown upon the interior side of the compass box, and. this, after suitiable adjustment, moves around as the card moves. This line being of different length is easily distingushable fromjthe other, and it maybe temporarily set so as to bear any desired, relation to any point on the card. In steering the helmsman has simply to move his wheel so as to keep the two luminous lines in the same straight line —[Chicago News Record.