Longitude
Longitude

Author: Dava Sobel

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2010-07-05

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0802779433

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The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--"the longitude problem." Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day-and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives and the increasing fortunes of nations hung on a resolution. One man, John Harrison, in complete opposition to the scientific community, dared to imagine a mechanical solution-a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land. Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer. Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world.

The Illustrated Longitude
The Illustrated Longitude

Author: Dava Sobel

Publisher: Paw Prints

Published: 2008-10-08

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781439559321

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A new illustrated edition of the best-selling Longitude chronicles the tale of the eighteenth-century inventor John Harrison, who created the chronometer and, in the process, saved thousands of lives and great fortunes. Reprint.

Galileo's Daughter
Galileo's Daughter

Author: Dava Sobel

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2009-05-26

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 0802777473

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Inspired by a long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of Galileo's daughter, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel has written a biography unlike any other of the man Albert Einstein called "the father of modern physics- indeed of modern science altogether." Galileo's Daughter also presents a stunning portrait of a person hitherto lost to history, described by her father as "a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and most tenderly attached to me." Galileo's Daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. Moving between Galileo's grand public life and Maria Celeste's sequestered world, Sobel illuminates the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court in Rome during the pivotal era when humanity's perception of its place in the cosmos was about to be overturned. In that same time, while the bubonic plague wreaked its terrible devastation and the Thirty Years' War tipped fortunes across Europe, one man sought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope. With all the human drama and scientific adventure that distinguished Dava Sobel's previous book Longitude, Galileo's Daughter is an unforgettable story

Discovery of Longitude, The
Discovery of Longitude, The

Author: Joan Marie Galat

Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.

Published: 2012-09-14

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 9781455616374

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Scientific discovery changes the world! Discover the fascinating story behind one of the most important changes to nautical navigation in this nonfiction book for young readers. More than 300 years ago, explorers wandered the seas using unreliable maps. What they needed to know was the longitude of their locations, but for that they needed accurate time keeping. Unfortunately, no accurate source of time measurement at sea existed. In 1714 the British government decided to offer a reward to anyone who could solve the problem. Learned men and great thinkers alike tried unsuccessfully to work out a solution. They declared it unsolvable! Carpenter John Harrison was intrigued; he thought he might have a solution. He worked for years to design a clock that functioned accurately at sea, even though no one believed he could do it. Even after his timepiece was demonstrated effective at sea, he was still not acknowledged for his ingenious solution. It took many years and intervention by the king to grant Harrison the recognition and reward he deserved for solving the problem of how to accurately track longitude and for winning the British government prize. The book offers a detailed map of the world at that time and includes the advancements in the use of longitude since then.

Einstein's Clocks and Poincare's Maps: Empires of Time
Einstein's Clocks and Poincare's Maps: Empires of Time

Author: Peter Galison

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2004-09-14

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 0393326047

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"In Galison's telling of science, the meters and wires and epoxy and solder come alive as characters, along with physicists, engineers, technicians and others . . . Galison has unearthed fascinating material." ("New York Times").

Ships, Clocks, and Stars
Ships, Clocks, and Stars

Author: Richard Dunn

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-11-04

Total Pages: 601

ISBN-13: 0062357174

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A tale of eighteenth-century invention and competition, commerce and conflict, this is a lively, illustrated, and accurate chronicle of the search to solve “the longitude problem,” the question of how to determine a ship’s position at sea—and one that changed the history of mankind. Ships, Clocks, and Stars brings into focus one of our greatest scientific stories: the search to accurately measure a ship’s position at sea. The incredible, illustrated volume reveals why longitude mattered to seafaring nations, illuminates the various solutions that were proposed and tested, and explores the invention that revolutionized human history and the man behind it, John Harrison. Here, too, are the voyages of Captain Cook that put these revolutionary navigational methods to the test. Filled with astronomers, inventors, politicians, seamen, and satirists, Ships, Clocks, and Stars explores the scientific, political, and commercial battles of the age, as well as the sailors, ships, and voyages that made it legend—from Matthew Flinders and George Vancouver to the voyages of the Bounty and the Beagle. Featuring more than 150 photographs specially commissioned from Britain’s National Maritime Museum, this evocative, detailed, and thoroughly fascinating history brings this age of exploration and enlightenment vividly to life.

The Longitude Prize
The Longitude Prize

Author: Joan Dash

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (BYR)

Published: 2000-10-13

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

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The story of John Harrison, inventor of watches and clocks, who spent forty years working on a time-machine which could be used to accurately determine longitude at sea.

Finding Longitude
Finding Longitude

Author: Richard Dunn

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780007525867

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Official publication of the National Maritime Museum's exhibition "Ships, Clocks and Stars: The Quest for Longitude". 300 years ago, amidst growing frustration from the naval community and pressure from the increasing importance of international trade, the British government passed the 1714 Longitude Act. It was an attempt to solve one of the most pressing problems of the age: how to determine a ship's longitude (east-west position) at sea. With life-changing rewards on offer, the challenge captured the imaginations and talents of astronomers, skilled craftsmen, politicians, seamen and satirists. This beautifully illustrated book is a detailed account of these stories, and how the longitude problem was solved. Highlights of the book include: * Foreword by the fifteenth Astronomer Royal, Martin Rees. * Specially commissioned photographs of the National Maritime Museum's collection. * A new description of the collaborations and conflicts in a tale of technical creativity, scientific innovation and hard commercialism. From the same publisher as Dava Sobel's Longitude, Finding Longitude tells a new story of one of the great achievements of the Georgian age, and how it changed our understanding of the world.

There's a Map on My Lap! All About Maps
There's a Map on My Lap! All About Maps

Author: Tish Rabe

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Published: 2002-09-24

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 0375810994

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Laugh and learn with fun facts about mapmakers, geography, compasses, and more—all told in Dr. Seuss’s beloved rhyming style and starring the Cat in the Hat! “You may travel the world, but no matter how far, with a map on your lap you will know where you are.” The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series combines beloved characters, engaging rhymes, and Seussian illustrations to introduce children to non-fiction topics from the real world! Go on a journey and learn: • how to read the latitude and longitude lines on a map • why a hiker uses a topographical map • why mapmakers use a scale and legends • and much more! Perfect for story time and for the youngest readers, There’s a Map on My Lap! All About Maps also includes an index, glossary, and suggestions for further learning. Look for more books in the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series! If I Ran the Horse Show: All About Horses Clam-I-Am! All About the Beach Miles and Miles of Reptiles: All About Reptiles A Whale of a Tale! All About Porpoises, Dolphins, and Whales Safari, So Good! All About African Wildlife Oh, the Lavas That Flow! All About Volcanoes Out of Sight Till Tonight! All About Nocturnal Animals What Cat Is That? All About Cats Once upon a Mastodon: All About Prehistoric Mammals Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? All About Weather The Cat on the Mat: All About Mindfulness

Sea Clocks
Sea Clocks

Author: Louise Borden

Publisher:

Published: 2008-09-01

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9781906367107

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John Harrison worked tirelessly for over 40 years to create a perfect clock, so that sailors could accurately work out their location at sea. Illustrated throughout, Borden's story highlights the drama, disappointments and successes that filled Harrison's quest to invent the perfect sea clock.