North Pole is Leaving Canada 406
Dedekind writes: "CNN.com is posting this story
on the drifting of the Magnetic North Pole. Not only is the pole shifting from a spot just North of Resolute,
Canada, Canadian scientists expect it to end up in Siberia within the next half-century. Perhaps the most interesting part of the
story (which really is only a small part at the end) is that many couples like
to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children.
"
Effect on topo maps (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:5, Informative)
The article also makes it clear that the odds are poor that it will actually end up in Siberia, as the pole has never followed a straight line, and the rate of movement has always been unpredictable.
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2)
maps are going to have to be updated much more frequently.
Probably a good idea. I was doing some recent work with plotting GPS tracks on USGS topo maps [boonedocks.net]. These maps, which I downloaded from the web, stated that they had been made in 1964 and last updated in 1976!
Where it's been (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Where it's been (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2)
What has to be updated are navigation systems that use magnetic north and calculate the true north based on magnetic variance.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2, Insightful)
there are things that a compass can do (gasp!) that gps can't, like taking bearings off of other objects to figure out what they are on the map and the inverse, plotting courses from the map and sighting them to the real world.
sure, a gps can give you a rough arrow on an LCD display of which way to go, but a compass can tell you precisely (within a half degree) of the direction over a long distance in very little time. who wants to keep looking at the gps all the time? with a compass, sight once, walk or canoe several kilometres, sight again.
and it's technology overload. in most circumstances a compass is more than enough and does the job faster with the same (necessary) accuracy. i don't *need* to know within a metre where i am, i only need to know within a hundred metres, and even that is overkill sometimes.
i also believe that the gps offers a false sense of security, that people believe that they won't be able to get lost without it.
and then there's the whole nature/tech separation which is the whole reason people go outside in the first place, to get away from the gadgets. i don't even like tripping with my watch.
my two cents. i'm sure they have a billion applications.
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:4, Insightful)
To join the objections bandwagon: My biggest issue with GPS is that it doesn't work reliably under tree cover or in canyons, something most manufacturers don't go out of their way to advertise. In the Pacific Northwest, where I do most of my hiking, this means GPS isn't that useful. I mean, it can be sort of fun, and you can download maps and see a little "X marks the spot" right on the trail where you're standing, but I would *never* leave my compass at home.
My favorite example of this was a 4 day outing I did last summer. Two of my friends brought their new GPS toys to play with, and were placing bets on which was better. Due to terrain and heavy tree cover, they were only able to get a reading from one spot the first day. Two spots on the second, and from nowhere (except the parking lot) on the last two days.
Map and compass are easy to master, cheap, always reliable, and weigh less than two ounces. Sure, you can bring your GPS, but I'm still not leaving my compass at home.
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2)
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2)
True, they do. But that difference is what's changing. Thus the printed maps will be out of date
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2, Informative)
IIRC, marine charts (what a map's called when you put it on a boat) at least regularly have correction sheets printed, so the charts don't go out of date as quickly.
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2, Informative)
also, you can make a compass [thinkquest.org] using a bowl of still water, a blade of grass, and a small sliver of ferrous metal. (like the hand of a watch)
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:2)
Yes, but then it's decidedly less portable.
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:5, Insightful)
Those without electricity to run GPS devices.
Say that you are in a non-urban environment somewhere, either a Boyscout on a trip in the Southwest U.S., a U.S. serviceman in the mountains of Afghanistan, or a deep-sea fisherman off the coast of New England. If you're lucky, you have a GPS device that tells you exactly where you are and what route you should take to get to where you're going. It's certainly safer that way, idn't?
Suppose that your batteries run down, or your generator breaks down, or the GPS device you're using doesn't have a hand crank. I bet you'd really like to know the difference between true north and magnetic north right about then.
Suppose the U.S. goes to war in the near future with a country who is not vastly overwhelmed by our military might. If I was in charge of a war effort in such a country, (China for example, which may happen depending on how we handle the 'War on Terrorism'), I would make a point of using missiles to eliminate the network of GPS sattellites in order to confuse and confound my enemies.
U.S. soldiers, pilots, and ship captains would *have* to care about Magnetic vs. True north at that point. I'm almost certain that standard field gear for all U.S. servicemen still includes a magnetic compass. Any of the Military readers care to confirm or correct me?
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, we had them, no they were not accurate enough. Several times we took a GPS reading to a KNOWN location. Known as in to 8 digits. For those who don't know what that means, here's a link:
http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll
The GPS was consistently off by at least 30 meters. That may not sound like a lot, but when you are calling for direct fire, 30 meters is the difference between wiping out the enemy and wiping out your squad or platoon.
Yes, the lensatic compass is still standard issue: http://www.rangerjoes.com/catalog/selection.cfm?c
The biggest reason why people wash out of military schools is LandNav [well, and PT I guess]. No combat soldier trusts his luck to a contraption that may/may not be accurate.
Of course this doesn't apply to helicopter pilots and others. And also it doesn't apply to desert regions like Iraq [see Bravo Two Zero for an example of a GPS must]. But for day to day use I'll take my lensatic compass over a GPS in a heartbeat.
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:3, Insightful)
...I'll take my lensatic compass over a GPS in a heartbeat.
I'm sure your squad will rest easy knowing you are calling for direct fire based on your compass with better than 30 meters precision.
-
Re:Effect on topo maps (Score:3, Interesting)
This is a problem which has been all but solved. The military has developed vehicle-mounted gps recievers that can deal with inconceivable amounts of jamming (something about using multiple recievers to filter out the jamming signal - im not a radio expert), then relay the signal over some un-jammed frequency (software-based radio maybe?) to provide highly accurate positioning to weapons and personnel in the field who are unable to recieve the "native" gps signal.
Couple this with the military's ability to selectively introduce faulty data into the GPS signal (and remove it on the ground) and you have a pretty good system for getting you within 10 feet of where you want to go and disorienting your enemy besides.
And in response to the grandparent of this post, good luck hitting any LEO satellite with a missle. That's like trying to shoot a fly at 5000 yards with a
All that fancy navigational equipment I have in my airplane doesn't come close to approaching the compass/stopwatch/map for reliability.
Ah yes but it certainly does for accuracy and detail!
I don't need the magnetic North Pole... (Score:2, Funny)
:D
Hm... (Score:2)
Re:Hm... (Score:5, Insightful)
Magnetic fields, like electric fields, are the modern equivalent of leprechauns, fairies, and demons. For the typical layperson, they are invisible, subtle, and inexplicable. The people going to the North Pole to conceive are the spiritual descendants of those who waited on midsummer's eve in the sacred grove. Since it's something they can't see and don't understand, it must be powerful.
Re:Hm... (Score:2)
I'm betting the dried, sharp pine needles can be a turn off.
Re:Hm... (Score:2)
In California, the power companies lease the land under the high-power lines to things like nursuries and christmas tree farms.
Hmmmm....
With all those high voltage lines, do you think they'd mind much if my "farm" consisted of lots of inductive loops with which to scrounge some electricity?
Northrip's Law (Score:2)
One of his favorite examples was that people don't understand gravity, and they don't understand magnetism, so UFOs must be powered by gravity engines.
Re:Hm... (Score:2)
Re:It's the aurora man (Score:2)
Conception...Copulation (Score:2)
Desperate People... (Score:2)
Its a wonder you don't find slummy hotels with free porno channels at the spot...
Christmas in 500 years (Score:2)
Re:Christmas in 500 years (Score:2)
Yeah, about an hour or two by air depending on how and where you plan to land. Stop looking at those silly Mercator Projection maps and get something that shows northern latitudes a bit more accurately, or invest in a globe.
Children with three heads, 12 fingers, and a tail (Score:2)
Hopefully it slows...... (Score:3, Interesting)
Magnetic North Keeps Moving [netlondon.com]
Does this mean (Score:2, Funny)
I won't be able to write Santa Claus anymore at
Santa Claus ...?
North Pole
Canada, HOH0H0
Then again, maybe that's not such a bad thing. This past Giftmas my boyfriend wrote him asking for his list of naughty girls. Thankfully all he got back was a form letter. ;)
that's not bad (Score:5, Insightful)
Does anyone else remember from college how the poles just flip every million years or so, and no one really knows why? That whay *I* am worried about. the poles moving just a little bit is fine with me.
but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause. Would we have to relabel all the maps that are made? Many airplanes could not fly (with older instrumentation). Thankfully, GPS should still work..
Here's the main point of the article for those too lazy to click and read:
If the pole follows its present course, it will pass north of Alaska and arrive in Siberia in a half century, but Newitt cautioned that such predictions could prove wrong. "Although it has been moving north or northwest for a hundred years, it is not going to continue in that direction forever. Its speed has increased considerably during the past 25 years, and it could just as easily decrease a few years from now," the geophysicist said. The erratic pole can jump around considerably each day, but migrates on average about 10 kilometers to 40 kilometers each year.
Re:that's not bad (Score:3, Funny)
Would Santa and his elves relocate to Central America? Christmas in Bermuda?
Re:that's not bad (Score:2)
Santa would be at the true north pole.
BTW, I've heard people say that the true north pole is actually part of Canada as well. Maps such as this one [atlas.gc.ca] show Canada's territory extending to the true north pole, but one might expect the infinitesimally small point to be divided between Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark (Greenland). Is the true north pole really part of The True North Strong And Free?
Re:that's not bad (Score:2, Informative)
Re:that's not bad (Score:4, Funny)
Re:that's not bad (Score:4, Insightful)
No, that was far too advanced for my college
I'm not so bothered by it flipping; I'm bothered by the suggestions that in the process of flipping the field weakens and practically disappears.
It's one thing to think "N is S, and S is now N", it's quite another to think "my compass is useless, and I'm probably going to get cancer from the next solar mass ejection because there's no magnetic field to offset all those high energy particles".
Re:that's not bad (Score:2)
So, to answer your statement, if the flux of particles that DON'T hit you is orders of magnitude higher (probably around 10^9 or higher) than the particles that DO hit you, would YOU want to flip those numbers around (so now the number of particles that DO hit you is 10^9 times higher than the number of particles that DON'T hit you)? Obviously not.
Re:that's not bad (Score:5, Interesting)
The orientation of the field doesn't really matter too much. I mean, we'd have to relabel compasses, etc., but no big deal.
But
Re:that's not bad (Score:5, Informative)
There isn't really a good qualitative description of what's going on, but basically, the core of the Earth is a spinning liquid ferrous object which is highly conducting, and sets up huge currents which produce huge magnetic fields. These magnetic fields can get "trapped" in a convective layer above the core (and become "earthspots", in analogy to "sunspots"). The sunspots act to cancel out the conductive field (the dipole portion) which weakens the field. These perturbations can cause the conductive region to 'flip' to the other polarity (there are two spots of stability, one with + polarity, one with - polarity: if you 'push' the magnetic field enough away from the original, you can shove it to the opposite polarity) which then begins to cause sunspots of its own, and the cycle continues.
The field recovers basically because there are two magnetically generating 'layers' - the core, and the convective region. They, together, cancel each other out, but because the core generates the convective region, the magnetic field is only zero so long as the polarities of the convective region and the core are opposite and equal (which doesn't last 'long' on a cycle scale).
This is all assuming everything works like the Sun does, which is assumed, but not entirely sure.
Re:that's not bad (Score:2)
It's 250,000 years [raytheon.com], and (some people will tell you) the field is winding down a bit right now, which is rather a bad thing unless you happen to have a cosmic ray proof bunker.
Re:that's not bad (Score:5, Informative)
Whoops, guess I should have used the "Preview" button. Corrected post follows:
but if the poles just flipped, imagine what chaos it would cause. Would we have to relabel all the maps that are made?
Aeronautical maps are re-issued every 4-5 years anyway, because of this natural drift. Pick up any aviation chart and look for the curving lines called "deviation lines." These are used by pilots to convert from magnetic heading to true heading. Since the poles move, the lines also move, and the charts are re-printed periodically. This isn't a big deal, since other things change over time too, as new airports are added, and airspace is re-classified.
Incidentally, if the poles flipped, older planes wouldn't have any trouble navigating. All planes have at least a basic instrument navigation system to direct them to fixed radio beacons. Even most older planes are fitted with relatively modern (<10 years old) instrument navigation systems (IFR).
A relatively more significant issue to worry about are the runways themselves. The numbers on the ends of runways are the first two digits of the magnetic heading corresponding to the runway direction. If the poles flipped, these numbers would all have to be updated.
The "chaos" that we'd have to worry about would actually be in relation to the radiation shielding provided by the Earth's magnetic field. If the poles were to switch, it's not the kind of thing that happens instantaneously. It could take years, even decades for the switch to complete, and in the interim, we would be vulnerable to harsh radiation from the Sun. Aside from the obvious effects to our health, this could disrupt power grids and disable magnetic storage media. THAT is what you should be worried about.
But seriously now... (Score:2, Funny)
I'm moving to Mexico... (Score:3, Funny)
Soon enough our beer will start tasting like that weak, watery American beer.
Re:I'm moving to Mexico... (Score:2, Informative)
Take a reasonably uninteresting story... (Score:3, Interesting)
The CNN article, apart from giving fodder to go on about Arctic Sex, is uninteresting. Nothing scientific about it, just pure, watered down, stretched out simple fact.
You could write it like this:
The North Pole is moving. People might go and look at it. Some even conceive there.
That's it.
Typical CNN (Score:2)
Apparently CNN takes pure speculation as predicting the future. It could just as easily end up in Atlanta, or (as has happened before in Earth's history) abruptly switch polarity and end up in Chile or the South Pole.
"... The honeymooners did not make the trip, but other couples, also believing that the location nurtures fertility, have chartered small planes to the forbidden spot, set up tents on the ice and conducted their business.
Umm, that's "forbidding", not "forbidden". Go there anytime ya want.
For some values of "many" (Score:4, Interesting)
What - 5, 6? Perhaps a dozen a season? On a planet of 6 billion folks that's "many"? That isn't even a lot compared to any other notable location: How many kids have been conceived within a few km of Niagara Falls by honeymooners? Or what about all of the Asian folks intentionally born in supposedly "lucky" years?
By the way, for only having 200 fulltime inhabitants tourism is a major industry in Resolute Bay with 4 hotels, several charter airline services and a number of tour operators. That the occasional couple decides gave a go at it near the magnetic pole is hardly surprising nor are the numbers unexpected.
My OnStar in 50 years... (Score:4, Funny)
"Hello OnStar, how may I help you Mr. Jones?"
"I think I'm lost. I need to get downtown. Can you tell me where I am?"
"It says you are 10 miles out in the Pacific, Mr. Jones. Do you need assistance?"
Re:My OnStar in 50 years... (Score:2)
"Hello OnStar, how may I help you Mr. Jones?"
"I think I'm lost. I need to get downtown. Can you tell me where I am?"
"It says you are 10 miles out in the Pacific, Mr. Jones. Do you need assistance?"
Poor Batman. The Joker's gonna have a hayday with this one.
Re:My OnStar in 50 years... (Score:2)
Re:My OnStar in 50 years... (Score:2)
Bullshit.
No consumer-level magnetic compass device is sensitive enough to detect metal more then a few meters away, certianly not more then 10m. Furthermore something designed to operate in the challenging environment of a car is not going to be all that responsive to local or transient conditions.
Doubtless what you are misremembering (and clearly didn't think through either) was that one would need to drive some distance between points to calibrate the compass by creating a sufficiently long baseline. Metallic objects would have had little or no effect, certianly parking 10m or so from other vehicles or structures would have been more then sufficient.
Reading for Comprehension: It works for others...
It has been drifting nothward for decades... (Score:2)
This line just hits me as inherently funny, given the subject.
The slashdotted site became more slashdotted
CmdrTaco REALLY starting liking anime
ACs posted even stupider comments including the word stupider...
I KNOW, I KNOW...magnetic vs. true, etc. But its still funny
scenic Resolute (Score:2)
They even have an ISP [polarnet.ca] up in Nunavut...in fact Wired had an article [wired.com] about net access up there in the permafrost.
- adam
Did anyone else... (Score:2, Funny)
It may be a bad place to conceive (Score:4, Interesting)
More info on wandering pole (Score:4, Informative)
It, however, does not contain any information about couples going to the north pole to conceive children. According to some [york.sch.uk], it's actually harder to conceive at the North Pole.
Re:More info on wandering pole (Score:2)
Well duh! Could it be the SUB-ZERO temprature! With the frank all shriveled and the beans hiding in the abodomen - it is hard to conceive of conceiving in those conditions.
contrary to published reports... (Score:3, Funny)
"It's the in-laws," he explained, "sometimes I can only take so much."
"Sometimes a little distance is a good thing."
North Pole Moving? (Score:3, Funny)
Aurora (Score:2)
Will this make it harder to see Northern Lights in Canada, and easier to see them in Siberia?
The interesting thing to me is.. (Score:2)
I Don't Blame The Pole (Score:2)
Save The North Pole! (Score:2)
REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL USE TO SAVE THE NORTH POLE!
-jon
Ah, (Score:2)
Many couples are pretty stupid.
Leaving Canada, eh? (Score:2)
Don't pay attention to what they say the reasons are. It's the taxes.
Shifting poles = mutations (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't have an sources to link to of the top of my head, anyone else?
Complaints (Score:2)
Otherwise, they will convince god to give a magnetic north pole to both Russia and Canada.
(now, I can read the other posts to see how many people replied that
--
Canada's Reaction (Score:2)
"Quite honestly, eh, we are unsure what dis is all aboot", says Dr. Ock E. Puck.
"I doon't know why, but it's moving pretty fast now, eh"
Canada's government is making swift efforts to entice the pole to stay. Currently in the works are:
Tax-breaks for Tesla-enducing corporations
Affordable shielding programs
and a bill to allow for the marriage of poles of the same orientation.
Wandering shmandering (Score:2)
Every 250,000 years or so, the whole thing reverses polarity [raytheon.com]. And it's winding down right now, which is possibly a sign that we're due for another one. Don't invest too heavily in homing pigeons. ;-)
Why do so (Score:2)
?
It must give the offspring a magnetic personality
Shocking News (Score:2)
Bill Gates intends to migrate the Pole to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA, at which point MS will claim corporate ownership of said pole.
Microsoft: We'll Tell Where to Go Today.
More info: (Score:2)
For a comparion of magnetic pole shift vs other theories of polar and crusty disturbance, check out this page [compuserve.com] which picks apart the psuedo science of it all. There are a lot of wacko theories on what pole shift means, and a lot of it is based on lack of evidence and mis-conceptions.
It is intereting to note that, the earth's core is rotating faster than the surface crust [eurekalert.org] to begin with.
There is this concern: The magnetic field acts as a shield against solar particles, etc. No field = no shield. Weak field = weak shield. This could be an issue with solar flares. Some folks are concerned that the field may be in the process of failing [eurekalert.org]
Also, if the poles were to flip suddenly, many creatures that navigate magnetically could be affected. A full magnetic reversal could cause massive ecological problems across the whole of the Earth. If this took place slowly enough, each generation of creatures would learn to navigate with its' current situation.
Natural Viagra? (Score:2, Funny)
Dear, take me to the pole!
Wonder what Santa's reaction is? (Score:2)
A warning though - the US is still the only country in the world not to use metric, all the dollars are the same color, and they don't use the u in words like colour or spell centre correctly.
On the plus side, he can cut back on all those bilingual training courses - but he might want to pick up some Spanish just in case.
And it might take longer to make Rudolph's nose red - the beer, cider, and wine down here is awful weak to Canadian tastes.
Wonder if he'll have any problems with the NAFTA and Free Trade forms - occupation: Santa - is that a professional skill?
-
Conceived at the North Pole = bad idea (Score:3, Funny)
many couples like to go to the magnetic North Pole to conceive their children.
I've met some people who were conceived at the North Pole. None of them seemed to have any direction in life.
We must act (Score:2)
From the great generating facilities in our hydroelectric plants to the tiniest servo in children's toys, our fascination with electric power that has led to these global changes must end.
How can we in good conscience continue the use of these technologies, fully knowing their effect on our grandchildren?
Who is to blame? (Score:4, Funny)
Join Greenpeace [greenpeace.org] and save the Earth's fragile magnetic stability!!!
Trying to avoid taxes? (Score:5, Funny)
Money (Score:2)
Honk. Honk. (Score:3, Funny)
Obviously an effect of the brain drain (Score:2, Funny)
Looks like EVERYONE who can is leaving Canada.
Predictably, Jean Chretien denies that anything is wrong in any way whatsoever, and that more poles are MOVING to Canada than are leaving, resulting in a net pole gain.
Of course, the Canadian Post Office are probably relieved by this - in a few years letters addressed to "Santa Claus" will no longer go to Canada Post - they'll be Siberia's problem. The Union is overjoyed! Less work! But they'll still strike for more money, mind.
new software development (Score:2)
More Brain Drain (Score:2, Funny)
Good God! I just realized -- we could lose the Santa Claus Toy Manufacturing plants as well!
The ignominy of it all.
Isn't it the magnetic south pole? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Isn't it the magnetic south pole? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Moving Magnetic Pole? (Score:5, Funny)
How, exactly, can the North Pole drift northward?
Seems like it would be more accurate to say that Siberia is drifting northward and North America is drifting southward.
WE HAVE TO STOP THIS NOW! At this rate, North America will be South America, environmentalists will be warning about the dangers we face when the Jamaican ice sheets collapse, and Australia will be located somewhere near the moon.
Re:I'm just curious... (Score:5, Funny)
The South Pole has, for the last few million years or so, been on a quest of quiet self-discovery and introspection. Not a flirty, social, gadabout like that pretentious North Pole. Talk about a self-esteem problem...
"Everybody! Look at me! I'm the North Pole!!! You need me to navigate and I provide obscure and unproven fertility assistance!"
I mean really - it wasn't getting enough press coverage already so it had to start moving around to get some CNN coverage. You'd think it was related to Cathy Lee...
Not so for the South Pole who values solitude and dignity. Sure it's had to put up with those hardcore scientists on Antarctica and the incessant chattering of the penguins, but it sure beats needing constant emotional stroking from all the humans and their On*Star systems.
Re:can't blame it (Score:5, Funny)
Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Highway Construction
Re:can't blame it (Score:2)
Ahhh city folk. We call Highway Construction (summer) Mosquito Season in the bush. After going through that, you can't wait for Almost Winter to start up again!
Re:can't blame it (Score:2)
Re:There was shrinkage (Score:2)
Re:Booooo (and offtopic) (Score:2)
For what it's worth.
Re:compass? (Score:2)
It is always going to be digital and calculated based on your position, but whether you want geographic north or magnetic north is up to you and the user typically can select which they want. The GPS receiver can be told where magnetic north is and calculates direction just the same as it would for true north.
I remember my Garmin knew that my magnetic deviation is 11W in central PA. Altho the $64,000 question is: Is there a way to update the position used as magnetic north in the GPS receiver so that it will be accurate in 10 years? Or for someone how knows better than I, does the GPS data stream include/can it include this information?
Re:compass? (Score:2)
As far as I know, GPS units calculate direction by triangulating the unit's position in relation to the 24 orbitting GPS space segment satellites. Each satellite transmits its own known position, the current atomic time, system status, etc., and also sends a pseudorandom navigation (PRN) stream.
The handheld receives a nav signal and PRN stream, and then generates its own PRN, using the current time as the seed. It then adjusts (looking for a pattern match) for the difference (thanks to the delay in transmission time) between the signal and the satellites PRN. This offset lets the GPS determine how far it is from a given satellite.
The handheld repeats this for another satellite, giving it two spheres that overlap, with the overlapping area being where the GPS must currently be. A third satellite is contacted, resulting in two possible points; one will be far, far "above" the satellite, so the GPS unit discards it. The remaining point is your current location. There *is* actually a fourth calculation (you can't determine 3 unknowns with only 3 variables, after all), which is a time-averaging based off the each of the satellites contacted, but many GPS units "fake" this by assuming that the unit is always at sea level.
That triangulation allows the GPS receiver to determine direction freely; the signals it receives give it enough axises of direction to do this, I believe. Anyone a bit more versed in geometry than me want to clear this up?
Re:North = South = North (Score:2, Interesting)