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Magnetism and aviation

Howie discovers the Earth is a giant magnet, and the needle on a compass always points to the Earth's magnetic north pole. On an aircraft, a magnetic field is created when current flows through wires to the instruments; this can affect the reading on the compass. To compensate for this, magnets on the outside of the compass are adjusted until the compass reading is lined up with the Earth's magnetic north pole.

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3 minutes