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Aug 6, 2023 at 2:54 comment added androidguy Would the frictionless compass oscillate the same angle regardless of how strong the magnetic field is?
Jun 11, 2023 at 21:46 vote accept moshtaba
May 26, 2023 at 22:36 comment added FlatterMann @SolomonSlow Absolutely. Even a cheap air filled compass is quite usable and shows only a limited tendency to oscillations. I did some experiments with neodymium magnets and floss as "bearing" to see how long the oscillations would last and that setup oscillates for a little bit (Q is on the order of a few ten or so, at least without any optimization), but ideally one would probably try that in an evacuated jar to get the oscillations to last a lot longer. With something like a gyroscopic bearing one could probably also demonstrate the precession.
May 26, 2023 at 19:47 comment added Solomon Slow A bad compass also contains a fluid, air, which provides some damping, though not nearly as much as the liquid fill provides. Also, there will be some damping due to friction in the bearing.
May 26, 2023 at 18:27 history answered FlatterMann CC BY-SA 4.0