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Birds magnetic sense 鸟类的磁性感知能力 Columbarian Columbuses 禽类新发现 Birds can navigate by the Earth s magnetic field.How they do it is still a mystery 鸟类能够利用地球磁场导航。机理尚不明确 WHERE would people be without magnetic compasses? 人类没有指南针会怎样? The short answer is: lost. 很简单：迷失方向。 By giving human beings a sixth sensean ability to detect the hitherto invisible magneticfield of the Earththe compass proved one of the most important inventions ever. 指南针给了人类第6感，使人能辨别地球无形的磁场，成为最重要的发明之一。 It let sailors navigate without sight of the night sky. 海员不用观察夜空便可以辨识方向。 And that led to the voyages of discovery, trade and conquest which created the politicalgeography of the modern world. 人们用它进行海上探索，海上交易，攻城掠地，进而开创了现代世界的政治版图。 Imagine, then, what animals which had their own, built-in compasses could achieve. 有些动物有自己内嵌的指南系统。可以想象得出这些动物的能力。 | 
