How to find North | Live Experiments with Huw James | Head Squeeze

[@typo148]

Seems like you made mistakes in all 3 ways. The watch thing only works in north hemisphere. The needle will point north and south but which is which? and the annotation on the sticks is very confusing, like its for the southern hemisphere but which is the first rock/shadow and which is second?

[@TheVergile]

1) nope - the only difference is that on the southern hemisphere you need to exchange the hour arm and the 12-o-clock mark and that north will be the direction closer to the sun. 2) yes, it only gives you the north/south axis, but you will be able to tell which is which by just watching in which direction the sun is moving for 10 minutes (from east to south) 3) it is indeed somewhat confusing. but no matter on which hemisphere you are, you will get an east-west line with the first point facing east and the second point facing west. (thats because the sun will move from east to west no matter where you are.)

[@TheVergile]

TheVergile Correction: damn, today im really getting confused with words. Of course the first point will be facing west and the second will be facing east. sorry.

[@Alexaflohr]

If you can see the sun, know which hemisphere you are in, and know generally if the sun is setting or rising, then you can find north. Two of these methods use the sun anyway.

[@TurboTelytJim]

I didn't understand the rock and stick method. How would that work between say 2-30 and 3pm? If you waited all day, and placed your rocks and the ends of the shadows, you would have, not only a compass, but a clock, too. A sundial. The shortest shadow would be mid-day.

[@DAFPvnk]

Another easy way is if you're in a town/city, all TV Satellite dishes face the equator (as that is where TV satellites orbit). So in the northern hemisphere all dishes point south, and in the southern hemisphere all dishes point north.

[@TheVergile]

there are some problems with that though - if the corresponding TV satellite is in a Molnija orbit (which is highly inclined) you will get a completely wrong direction. (this is likely for places more distant from the equator - i have not found any information regarding the actual distribution of receivers facing specific satellites aroudn the world though). So you might at least want to be careful and double-check with he sun when using that method

[@merittuuling2538]

Obviously this video is flawed and, honestly, I learned to find north with more percision in third grade. But surely when you're going hiking you're most likely going to have a compass with you along with a map. Unless of course you think you're Bear Grylls, in which case I really hope you're well prepared and... how do I put it... not stupid.

[@intervera]

In the third method with the stick I believe they put the cardinal points of north and south backwards given they are in the northern hemisphere... The sun casts a northerly shadow so the N and S need to be switched.

[@TechLaboratories]

NOTE: The shadow and watch method align with true north, because they're dependent on the rotation of the Earth, while the magnetic needle & compass align with magnetic north because of the Earth's magnetic poles. Make's a difference.

[@TechLaboratories]

Today, sure, but at the rate the magnetic pole is currently moving (and has moved in the past), that's not always true. If you're in a position where you have to navigate with magnetic north, even the offset of a fraction of a degree can make a huge difference over distance.

[@1PoodleKing1]

Ronwe TheFallen not true, in many places declination is really significant. When I was hiking in the mountains I had to use 19 degrees. That's pretty significant when deciding which peak to hike to. You get a totally different mountain if you forget it.

[@GetOutsideYourself]

Right, and also important to note that it's just an approximation, with error due to the location within a particular time zone, latitude, and daylight savings time. It might get you back to the road where you parked your car, but I wouldn't want to land an airplane with that technique.

[@SCARSAC]

best channel ever

[@williamm945]

Does the watch have to have the correct time?

[@TheHuesSciTech]

Pedantic question: wouldn't daylight savings time considerably throw out the results of the clock method? And what about crossing the border to the neighbouring country/state in a different timezone? Should your estimate of where north is suddenly lurch by 15°, 1 hour's worth? Pedantic answer: these issues will indeed throw the clock method off slightly. Ideally, the watch would be set to mean solar time, not the local country's time zone (which is mean solar time rounded to the nearest hour, ±daylight savings). Also, there's a reason it's called *Mean* Solar Time. Because the Earth's orbit around the sun is not perfectly circular, the sun is not at the same bearing relative to you at the same time on different days. Search for "Analemma" to see amazing pictures of the figure-eight path that the Sun follows through the sky. None of this is intended as a criticism of the video, obviously the aim is to get a rough reading; the error caused by everything mentioned above is typically not a concern. Hopefully someone will find the true complexity of the Sun's path through the sky interesting, though. Coincidentally, Mt Etna's peak is 14.995° East of the Greenwich meridian, which makes it very nearly dead on the 15° East line where Italian Time and True Mean Solar Time coincide.

[@oreubens]

Yes, and yes. You should do this assuming summer time (so add an hour in winter). And if you're not in the middle of a timezone, it'll be slightly off as well. Just know that all of these methods are "reasonably" accurate, if you want accuracy within a few degrees, you'll need a compass (and even that only finds the magnetic north, not the real north). And at night, you also have the polestar to guide you.

[@BBCEarthScience]

You've answered your own question very well TheHue's SciTech! We would agree with oreubens- each of these methods give you a rough estimate of how to find North if you find yourself caught without a compass! Of course if you're using the analogue watch method, you should make sure the watch is set to the time zone of where you are. We don't think daylight saving will make too much of a difference, especially when these are rough estimates to begin with. And of course a compass generally is more accurate when used with a map, however you do also have to make allowances in this case as magnetic North is not totally the same as True North!

[@LuciBear2327]

Question is the universe still expanding and will it stop if so what will happen

[@VoltRenzo]

Great video

[@JetBlackification]

with the analog watch method ... what if it's 6 oc'lock ... which way do i go?

[@TheVergile]

the sun is setting in the west. If you are in the northern hemisphere it will travel there, passing south at midday. So looking at the setting sun (and pointing your watches hour arm at it) you will be facing west, North is to your left and South is to your right. Actually the watch method just gives you just the north-south line. To know which way north and which way south is you need to know on which hemisphere you are. If, again. its the northern hemisphere, then north will be the direction pointing further from the sun.

[@TheVergile]

TheVergile correction: facing west north is obviously to the right and south is to the west ;)

[@ghmorsi]

south will be at 3 meaning the north is at 9 , i think

[@TheVergile]

correct

[@Leown89]

When water boils, why does there come so much oxygen (or air) from the bottom? I know there's air in the water, but what causes the big bubbles?

[@TheKaneDestroyer]

I've heard of mount etna back at school.

[@davidkui311]

3'd method is WRONG: when the sun rises from EAST, the edge of the first shadow will mark the WEST. when the sun sets in the WEST the second shadow will mark the EAST. from your 3'd demostration the sun rises from east and the shadow falls also east which is clearly WRONG.

[@chiquilio]

it depends if you are closer to the ecuator, and they were in Italy ,i think, which is somehow north

[@davidkui311]

chiquilio it doesn't matter where you are (northern, southern hemisphere, closer or farther from the equator ).my point is that using a stick shadow method the first shadow will mark the west (not point to the west) and the second will mark the east

[@GetOutsideYourself]

Congratulations. You just killed everybody in Australia, Brazil, South Africa, etcetera by sending them in the wrong direction with the watch technique. In the Southern Hemisphere, the sun is in the north, so the bisecting line between the hour hand and the 12 mark points in that direction, not south, as a hemispherically challenged narrator might otherwise lead one to believe.

[@ericrevollo]

I was thinking about the same, a little note or mention would be nice.

[@JetBlackification]

Thanks

[@Carhill]

Was coming to write the same thing.

[@rwired]

Yeah, I was also thinking it was a bit mean to not point that out, also when doing the magnetized needle method, you don't know which way you've managed to magnetize it, so you still need a little knowledge of the sun, starts or local terrain to sort them both out.

[@JanDoggen]

Not to mention that daylight summer time screws up the precision (and the sun is not in the south/north at 12:00 eactly either) ;-) Well, for the general direction it's good enough.

[@mohammedamer2968]

Nice thing. But i didn't understand the analog wacth method

[@olvi007]

Never been lost enough to need to use this kind of techniques. But if I really don't know where I am, does it matter if i walk to the North, South, East or West? I would think I need one of these techniques to keep me walking straight ahead so I won't return to my starting place after three days of walking. Does anyone have any experience about this kind of situation?

[@FractalZero]

It is those very situations in which a person laments from the depths of their being that they didn't bother learning basic navigation techniques.

[@artwdog]

On the third method, Shouldn't you place the rock at the end of the shadow?... otherwise it is just arbitrary.

[@PooeyBum11]

also how are you meant to know when to put the 2nd rock down. depending on how late you place it will affect the direction of where the middle is and so north will be different, or am i missing something

[@TheVergile]

indeed! if you want a more precise measurement you will want to take several points on check the length of the shadows and then connect the two which are closest in length.

[@Neueregel]

good one

[@scoutmasterkb28]

The watch method can only be used in the northern hemisphere, there is another method if you are in the Southern Hemisphere

[@TurboTelytJim]

So, half way between the hour hand and 12 o'clock points north, not south.

[@mariposahorribilis]

TurboTelytJim There are two "half ways": you can bisect the acute angle or the obtuse angle. One points north, the other south. Which is which depends on the hemisphere you're in. Don't ask me what happens on the equator though!

[@TurboTelytJim]

I am not sure what would happen at the poles either?

[@TurboTelytJim]

And why divide the angle by half? Well, it would be because the hour hand rotates twice in one day on a 12 hour clock face.

[@Chocomint_Queen]

TurboTelytJim Er. If you want to find north at the south pole, it's easy: every direction is north. Vice-versa for finding south at the north pole.

[@storyspren]

If you have a digital watch with you or your phone has a digital clock you can just check the time and see what time it is and see where the sun is. Then if you know the estimate time the sun sets around that time of the year and check where the sun is, you can estimate where north is.

[@TheVergile]

you can also just imagine how the analogue watch would look like...

[@storyspren]

That'll be a lot better. But Science Jesus (AKA Huw) said that apparently there are people who don't know what an analogue watch is so they have to use my crappy estimate method :P

[@TheVergile]

hahaha, true - im sure a lot of kids dont even learn to read analogue clocks nowadays

[@storyspren]

yeah. I personally prefer digital ones but analogue clocks look better on the wall. I don't carry a watch around that much but I do have a phone with me all the time so I can just imagine the analogue watch in my head

[@Zektron10]

TheVergile i prefer a Digital but all my friends and i know how to read it and im waring one as i type this

[@madeardy6193]

Its the vertical line of L on cobblestone. Ure welcm

[@wushish]

Watch trick only works in Northern Hemisphere, there is another version you can do for the southern hemisphere however

[@FrancoisvanderMerwe]

Guys, what a legit video! Best headsqeeze has made to date! Thanx!

[@polifemo3967]

I think the cardinal points are on the wrong sides. the sun, coming from the east, casts a shadow to the west which, as the sun moves, shifts to the east. between west and east, with east to the right ang west to the left, north is up and sputh is down. Although I did enjoy the video I would also have liked more theory as to why these methods work.

[@sassyblondel]

If you know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west it's your first clue. At night if you know the stars you can find north. In the daytime the "shadow-less stick" method works well.

[@gauravchandiramani]

Interesting.

[@EngeKomkommer]

For a split second, I thought "That's easy, just look at the stone texture". Then I remembered real life doesn't have textures. :(

[@Yourbedtimesong]

that awkward moment when you're real

[@CookingWithCows]

or you could install rei's minimap

[@CookingWithCows]

***** or press the f button to show your direction

[@wilfredotour3]

or simply know that the sun rises from the east and sets in the west. So just watch it's movement. I think that works better for people who are close to the equator tho.

[@CookingWithCows]

***** If you notice, that is exactly whata lot of methods like this do, trace the movement of the sun and put down markers with stones on the ground or use the markers on the watch to determine where north is

[@hiwayM9]

What all the confusion? ...on all the maps I ever looked at, north was always up.

[@ikkeheltvanlig]

@BeastOfTraal If you are surrounded by rocks, with their weak magnetic fields, it won't matter as long as your needle isn't up against one on one side. So in the middle of a pond or in a container on top of rocks, it won't matter ;)

[@typo148]

Actually it seems harder to find a digital watch these days than an analog watch. All wrist watches are perhaps loosing popularity though I guess.

[@6bd6ll6h]

i really love ur channels and videos and subscribed ur channel , but unfortnuatley in this video u didn't explain how to fined the north by the analogue watch very well , i think its better to say ( marry up the six clock on the sun ) not ( the hour arm ) because the hour arm doesn't work if its nt on six

[@oreubens]

wait, what magnetising aligns the electrons ? What weird science is this ?

[@Ukid111]

Trees, stars and the sun can be used

[@Khazar01]

not sure of this but i think there is an error in the animation with the stick and the shadow.....when the sun is in the east, it cast the shadow pointing towards west, and when it setting (west) it cast the shadow pointing towards east. Also if you face north, the sun should be behind you, and on that animation it stands that if you face north the sun would be in front of you.....

[@typo148]

If you are in the southern hemisphere the shadow will point south (and west or east). Do you think he has an Austrailian accent maybe?

[@Khazar01]

typo148 But he mentions at the beginning of the video that he's on Mount Etna.....that's in Sicily, Italy - northern hemisphere...

[@TheSwamper]

No offense intended, I'm a fan of the show, but the first example with the needle... If I had the foresight to take a needle with me, I'd have the foresight to take a compass with me. Just saying.

[@irnavas]

It is necessary to mention that the third method works only at noon.

[@adamskatharakis653]

RLY? With the needle method you've shown us how to find south-north magnetic axis. What you didn't show us, is how to find out where NORTH is. Basically you forgot to mention that with this particular method alone, you CAN'T tell south from north.

[@TurtleJen]

Unless the way he moved the magnet was how to tell... But it wasn't explained properly. =.=

[@Prich038]

Well yes you can, the sun if you are north of the equator is in the south, where if you are in the south below the equator then the sun is in the north

[@TurtleJen]

Then why do we even need the compass in that case?

[@Prich038]

Because sun tells you a rough, while the needle is precise

[@NightEye87]

Prich038 Not exactly true. This is only true for astronomic fall and spring, as the sun is directly above the equator at that date. For any summerday the sun could come from the north eventhough you are north of the equator (only if you are south of the Tropic of Cancer).

[@troyadams19]

This was an awesome video, I never realized how easy it was to find North.

[@starald]

Method 3 is complete hogwash. If we assume the north south axis at 6:10 is correct, this would indicate that the first shadow was cast around 2200, and the second one around 0200. Not only a bit longer than the 30 minutes or so indicated by Huw in the clip, but it would also it would mean that Italy now enjoys midnight sun… If we correct the error in the animation and flip the north south axis, making the shadows indicate 1000 and 1400, this method could work, but the shadow will move from West to East (opposite of the direction of the sun). It will only give a correct reading West to East if you take first reading before noon, and the second reading the same time interval after noon. If you do the same reading at 1700 and 1900, the shadow will move from North to South. You’ll be 90 degrees off course and would probably wander merrily straight into the volcano. Happy trekking.

[@davidkui311]

i don't think it matters when you take the first reading. from your example of first reading at 1700 and second at 1900, the length of the second shadow at 1900 will be longer than 1700. The same thing happens at noon, at noon there will be the shortest shadow (or no shadow at all) and afternoon the shadow gradually will grow.

[@starald]

davidkui311 Shadows will be longer the farther away from the equator you are and the farther away from noon you put your stick in the ground. This is however unfortunately not relevant for this method as it does not tell us much more than if it is AM or PM. The sun does not do a straight line. The Earths movements makes the sun appear to do a full circle. This means the shadow from the stick will also do a full circle, not a straight line from West to East throughout the day. At 0600 the sun is due East, at noon it is South, and at 1800 it is due West. And if you are in a location where you can still see it the midnight the sun, it will be due North. This means that with this stick in the ground method, the shadow will move West to East at noon, but at 0600 the shadow will move from South to North, and at 1800 it will move North to South. So if you decide to go out trekking, just bring a compass. That way you will not get swallowed by volcanoes or eaten by bears or tigers because of silly videos from Head Squeeze. 

[@davidkui311]

starald you do get that it doesn't matter which direction the shadow points, the EDGE of the first shadow will mark the west (at 10:00 for example) this 10:00 shadow will be longer than every other shadow afterwards until noon. the important thing to note is that the EDGE of every shadow will move from west to east. btw i'm still waiting for Head Squeeze to correct their mistake or to take down the video completely, i wonder how many times i was misinformed by them. maybe they should host scientists who know those facts for sure. (and i'm definitely taking the compass)

[@trippyhippy12]

A question for a Q+A does the moon ever pull satellites out their orbit?

[@thanksfernuthin]

How bizarre. The unnecessary linking to segments. It's like a book with a table of contents longer than the story itself.

[@Phunk123]

Lol, they cut the video as the leaf and needle moved past North towards West

[@beatsone]

method no. 4 - at night time, find Polaris

[@nickrich56]

... Lord Baden Powell explained these methods for Boy Scouts a century ago in Scouting for boys ... Huw gets his badge ... badger?

[@rob11s]

Huw, You have the hair of a Greek God! What product do you use? :)

[@BBCEarthScience]

We've been asking him all year and he won't tell us his secret Robertas Bukantis !

[@MPS186282]

If the sun begins in the east, the first shadow will be WEST, not east as shown in the video.

[@BeastOfTraal]

If the magnetic rocks a affecting the needle wont they also affect the compass. so testing with a compass is pointless.

[@TheVergile]

well. if they both show the same error wouldnt that suggest that the needle works pretty well as a compass? ;)

[@96cyt]

Top job to the Headsqueezers for not posting these stupid Bob things, I think we can probably agree that he is more annoying than the change!

[@DOGGYGONE1]

👏😃