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A solution to an accurate measurement of longitude for shipping was one of the biggest scientific problems of the time and involved some of the brightest minds

by nikcub 14y ago

A solution to an accurate measurement of longitude for shipping was one of the biggest scientific problems of the time and involved some of the brightest minds in the world working over decades and centuries. After losing almost 2,000 sailors and 4 Navy ships in an accident attributed to poor navigation, the British government offered the Longitude Prize - which was worth millions of dollars in todays money. From Gallileo and his method of timekeeping by tracking the moons of Jupiter, through to John Harrison and his invention of the chronometer - which ended up winning most of the Longitude Prize - the effort that went into finding a solution had many side effects for science and the solution opened up the world to better navigation and the eventual colonization. The entire story is chronicled in the book 'Longitude'[0], which was a best seller in 1998. It is well worth a read. Wikipedia is also a good starting point for finding out more.[1] [0] http://www.amazon.com/Longitude-Genius-Greatest-Scientific-Problem/dp/080271529X http://www.amazon.com/Longitude-Genius-Greatest-Scientific-P... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_longitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_longitude

damian2000 14y ago
Great book. There was also a BBC TV doco about it - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/241228.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/241228.stm
carlob 14y ago
Another interesting read is "The island of the day before" by Umberto Eco. A 1995 novel about the problem of longitude and time zones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_the_Day_Before http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_the_Day_Before
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mhandley 14y ago
And if you're ever in London, I'd thoroughly recommend visiting Harrison's clocks at the Greenwich Observatory: http://www.rmg.co.uk/harrison http://www.rmg.co.uk/harrison
sageikosa 14y ago
There's a book for the younger set also: http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Pictus-Outstanding-Nonfiction-Children/dp/B003GAN19I/ref=sr_1_1 http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Pictus-Outstanding-Nonfiction-C..., my son picked it for his school library in 2nd grade as his birthday book.
shawn-butler 14y ago
Slight caveat.. determining longitude wasn't so much one of the biggest scientific problems of the time, as it was an important problem the solution of which offered great utility. Longitude is indeed a great read but I'm pretty sure even the author would say she wasn't doing history (provides a pretty good bibliography though). So, it is not really the history or the entire story of the subject but a very good "dramatic" telling. Falls easily into the trap of "Sole Genius Persevering" tradition.

by nikcub 14y ago

damian2000 14y ago

Great book. There was also a BBC TV doco about it - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/241228.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/241228.stm

carlob 14y ago

Another interesting read is "The island of the day before" by Umberto Eco. A 1995 novel about the problem of longitude and time zones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_the_Day_Before http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_the_Day_Before

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mhandley 14y ago

And if you're ever in London, I'd thoroughly recommend visiting Harrison's clocks at the Greenwich Observatory: http://www.rmg.co.uk/harrison http://www.rmg.co.uk/harrison

sageikosa 14y ago

There's a book for the younger set also: http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Pictus-Outstanding-Nonfiction-Children/dp/B003GAN19I/ref=sr_1_1 http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Pictus-Outstanding-Nonfiction-C..., my son picked it for his school library in 2nd grade as his birthday book.

shawn-butler 14y ago

Slight caveat.. determining longitude wasn't so much one of the biggest scientific problems of the time, as it was an important problem the solution of which offered great utility. Longitude is indeed a great read but I'm pretty sure even the author would say she wasn't doing history (provides a pretty good bibliography though). So, it is not really the history or the entire story of the subject but a very good "dramatic" telling. Falls easily into the trap of "Sole Genius Persevering" tradition.