Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt J.D.
They are known as Kelvins Balls sometimes Flinders Balls which helps a magnetic compass in the correction of heel etc. to enable a calculation of Magnetic North (very short answer)
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I have heard them called the "navigator's balls" and you are never to mess with the navigator's balls.
Much the same technique is used on the magnetic compass in aircraft. Except the magnets are much smaller and adjusted with brass screws and brass screwdrivers when they "swing the compass" on a compass rose somewhere on the airport grounds.
