Page:A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism - Volume 2.djvu/103

 Rh capable of induction but that it may lose part of its so-called permanent magnetization in various ways.

The softest iron is capable of retaining what is called residual magnetization. The actual properties of iron cannot be accurately represented by supposing it compounded of the hard iron and the soft iron above defined. But it has been found that when a ship is acted on only by the earth's magnetic force, and not subjected to any extraordinary stress of weather, the supposition that the magnetism of the ship is due partly to permanent magnetization and partly to induction leads to sufficiently accurate results when applied to the correction of the compass.

The equations on which the theory of the variation of the compass is founded were given by Poisson in the fifth volume of the Mémoires de l'Istitnt, p. 533 (1824).

The only assumption relative to induced magnetism which is involved in these equations is, that if a magnetic force X due to external magnetism produces in the iron of the ship an induced magnetization, and if this induced magnetization exerts on the compass needle a disturbing force whose components are X', Y', Z',  then, if the external magnetic force is altered in a given ratio, the components of the disturbing force will be altered in the same ratio.

It is true that when the magnetic force acting on iron is very great the induced magnetization is no longer proportional to the external magnetic force, but this want of proportionality is quite insensible for magnetic forces of the magnitude of those due to the earth's action.

Hence, in practice we may assume that if a magnetic force whose value is unity produces through the intervention of the iron of the ship a disturbing force at the compass needle whose components are a in the direction of x, d in that of y, and g in that of z, the components of the disturbing force due to a force X in the direction of x will be a X, dX, and gX.

If therefore we assume axes fixed in the ship, so that x is towards the ship's head, y to the starboard side, and z towards the keel, and if X, Y, Z represent the components of the earth's magnetic force in these directions, and X', Y', Z' the components of the combined magnetic force of the earth and ship on the compass needle,