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The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward.
Book Description
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.
The scientific establishment of Europe—from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton—had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its certain pursuit of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, 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.
Customer Reviews:
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.......2007-08-31
A mediocre book , the author clearly has no scientific knowlegde and drags the story out as if it was a Soap opera . No diagrams / drawings / patent descriptions are included , meagre technical information . NOT worth the effort of reading . this publication is an insult to the intelligence . ABSOLUTE RUBBISH . ( and I have read it ). William Asquith .
An interesting read, but not exceptional........2007-06-27
Dava Sobel's 'Longitude' makes for a quick, light read. The story covers an interesting slice of history, but Longitude hardy distinguishes itself as being a great book. The largest problem is that the "lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time," John Harrison, is not a man about whom very much is known. Everything that is known about him could be fitted onto one of the (paperback) book's 175 pages. It's a bit remarkable that Sobel was able to milk a book from minimal and disjointed known facts. The story is really about the longitude problem itself, and the Harrison 'enemies' long-running success in undermining Harrison's solution, a precision chronometer that could maintain accuracy under the widely varied environmental conditions encountered by mariners.
Sobel's 'Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love,' is, in every way, a better book. For those interested in a fast-paced historical exposition of "a lone genius" advancing science but meeting maddening resistance from England's celebrity scientific elite (yes, it's a theme that parallels Sobel's 'Longitude'), by all means secure a copy of Tom Standage's 'The Neptune File: A Story of Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting,' the story of John Couch Adams' startling genius and the developments of planetary astronomy from William Herschel to our current spectroscopic and mathematical hunt for distant exoplanets.
Not a bad book, but not great either.
Not a boring science textbook.......2007-06-23
Sobel brings science to life in this tell of the quest to solve the navigational conundrum of measuring position. Her writing is visual and fluid. The book tells a gripping story that brings in bits of politics, geography, economics, philosophy, and many other disciplines. It proves that fact can be stranger than fiction. This is a great read for anyone of any age and with any area of interest.
A Great Story.......2007-06-12
Longitude and latitude tell a sailor or aviator or hiker where in the entire world he or she is. If latitude is known, one knows how far north or south of the equator he or she is. But that's a circle all the way around the earth. To find the point on that circle, the sailor's longitude must be known. Without longitude, ships missed resupply islands in the south pacific by a couple of miles or by hundreds of miles - and never knew it. They crashed into rocks wandering around like you would in a dark room - the door is on the other side but, where?
The earth is round and, therefore, there are 360 degrees in the circumference. The earth makes one rotation every 24 hours and the sun stays put. That is, the earth rotates at the rate of 15 degrees per hour. So, if I know the time at some point in the world and I know the local time, I can calculate where I am on the circle of latitude. I can determine local noon and then I look at my very accurate clock and determine the time in, say, London. If it's four hours earlier in London, I know I am 4 x 15 or 60 degrees around the world from London. I shoot the sun with my sextant to find my latitude and now I know where I am.
The problem was - how do I know what time it is in London when I'm in the south pacific. Even on land, clocks were not even close to accurate - they'd lose several minutes a day. Many solutions were proposed - my favorites were the "sympathetic dogs" and the line of cannon firing ships. The dog solution involved having a dog in London and a dog on the ship. Since it was well known that dogs communicate telepathically, if the dog in London was pinched, the dog on the ship would feel it and yelp. So - pinch the dog at noon and - voila! That didn't work so the next idea was to put a string of ships across the oceans beginning in London. Put them at one mile intervals and have the crews listen. At noon a cannon would be fired in London and the first ship would fire its cannon. The second ship would hear it and fire its cannon. and so forth across all the oceans. When a cruising ship heard the cannon, the captain knew it was noon in London. Too many ships, too much money and what to do during a storm.
Harrison's first clock was accurate to 1/2 second per day. That's in the mid seventeen hundreds. That's better than most clocks and watches made anywhere in the world up to about 30 years ago. He ultimately made a large watch - about five inches across - that was able to keep London time so accurately the British Navy could go anywhere and find what they were looking for and the way home. But think of the problems - the ship is rolling and pitching so a pendulum won't work. The temperature and humidity change so the mechanism slows or speeds up or rusts. There were no computer chips or quartz crystals. And there were many important people saying, "God is the answer - look to the heavens."
It's a story about something we take so easily for granted today. Our throwaway watches are more accurate than anything imaginable when Harrison started. An atomic clock measures time to the billionth of a second and we think nothing of it - but without those clocks we would have no satellite communication, no weather satellites, no space program. It's a story about a man who didn't know the answer but was determined to find it. Harrison had no computer, no modern machine tools, no precedent. His story is absolutely amazing. And it is told wonderfully by Dava Sobel. I've read it three times and have enjoyed it each of them.
Solving the Problem of Longitude.......2007-06-09
I read this book from the perspective of an old naval aviator who used to fix the position of his aircraft using celestial navigation. Having estimated the position of my aircraft using the stars and planets as the only means to navigate across the Pacific, Indian or Atlantic Oceans, I am profoundly aware of the difficulties associated with the determination of longitude. I am also aware that the modern (by 1950 standards) sextant that I used made the task of sighting a celestial body many times easier than that of a sailor on a rolling and pitching on a 150 ton sailing ship. I greatly enjoyed this story. It connected and resonated with my nautical background and experiences. I was not aware of the history of how this problem was solved. I routinely used Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in my military career, but could not explain why that was the prime meridian.
This is also the well told story of the clockmaker Harrison and his incredible determination to win the longitude prize. The story was well told. I only wish it were longer.
Book Description
This book studies the transition from local to national timekeeping, a process that led to Standard Time—the world-wide system of timekeeping by which we all live. Prior to the railroads’ adoption of Standard Railway Time in 1883, timekeeping was entirely a local matter, and America lacked any uniform system to coordinate times and public activities. For example, in the middle of the nineteenth century, Boston had three authoritative times, which differed by seconds and minutes.
The story begins in the 1830s with the building of the first railroads. Since railway safety depended upon maintaining the temporal separation of trains through precise timing, railroads were the first to establish time standards to govern their operations. The railroads’ switch to five time standards indexed to the Greenwich meridian inaugurated the modern era of public timekeeping and led directly to cities adopting Greenwich-indexed civil time zones.
Central to the story are those college and university astronomers who, starting in the 1850s, sold time signals to nearby cities and railroads. From the start, they competed with other entrepreneurs trying to make money by selling time. Decades of negotiations, government lobbying, and battles over customers followed, all in the name of “public service.” Improvements by a host of clockmakers, civil and electrical engineers, telegraph and railway technicians, and instrument makers finally changed the market for accurate time. Public timekeeping became the realm of business investors.
Despite the efforts of astronomers and various of their Congressional supporters, who argued for the necessity of a national system of time authorized by the federal government, the railroads’ success with their own system blocked legislation for a national system of time until the First World War. By then, a single source for correct time dominated the public’s timekeeping: the U.S. Naval Observatory’s noon signal.
In this first comprehensive, scholarly history of timekeeping in America, the author has drawn upon a rich, untapped archival record, municipal and legislative documents, newspapers, and science and engineering journals to challenge several myths that have grown up around the subject.
Customer Reviews:
Revealing and involving in its depth and detail.......2001-02-13
While it may be hard to easily categorize this title, it should become a mainstay of college-level collections of all sizes and types. Selling the True Time studies the transition from local to national timekeeping and a world-wide system of keeping time in the late 1800s. Until the railroads become involved, American lacked any uniform system to coordinate times: this charts the early involvement of the railroads in a process which transformed the world. Revealing and involving in its depth and detail, this is highly recommended.
Book Description
Because today's amateur astronomical telescopes are both powerful and affordable, spectroscopy - once the province of professionals - is becoming more and more popular. Various spectroscopes, at prices to suit everyone, are now available "off the shelf". Practical Amateur Spectroscopy contains everything an amateur needs to grasp the basic principles, to begin observing, and to understand just what the spectra show. Contributions by leading practical amateurs from America and Europe cover a very wide range of amateur equipment and techniques. One even describes how an audio CD can be used to show solar emission and absorption lines!
Book Description
This well-established textbook gives a general but comprehensive introduction to positional astronomy. Originally based on the author’s lecture courses at Cambridge University, it is intended primarily for undergraduates, but, due to its comprehensive nature, it is a very useful reference text for research workers in many branches of astronomy and space physics. The author considers the night sky as the celestial sphere and powerfully exploits the methods of spherical geometry. Most problems in which the precise determination of a heavenly body’s position in the sky is important are considered in theoretical detail, and the necessary formulae are derived to a precision that is sufficient for all but the most specialist purposes. The present revision has ensured that the terminology and treatment correspond precisely to current astronomical practice. A guiding principle has been to re-establish compatibility with the Astronomical Ephemeris and, to a lesser extent, with the fuller explanations of the Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. Fairly frequent comments added to the text indicate the sometimes modified relevance of the subject matter to modern astronomy. A number of additional exercises help to illustrate the new material.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-01-17
Very nice. Takes you back to the "Romper Room" or Kindergarten of astronomy. Book allows you plenty of "breathing room" in mastering the building blocks of today's more complicated concepts by thoroughly explaining material. Nothing is left to "guess work." This book should be a "tool" in everyone's "toolbox."
The besto book in spherical astronomy.......2005-07-08
I've used this book many years ago. In it learned lots on interesting things, including the forecast of solar eclipses and occultations of stars and other bodies by the Moon, planets, asteroids, etc.
I have in my bookshelf many other spherical astronomy books, most of them newer, but I always use Smart's book.
Long ago I lost my copy of the original book and felt really sad. Thanks God there is this a reedition of that clasic.
Congratulations for that, good books should never die.
Unsurpassed.......2004-01-09
Textbooks that remain in print for more than a few years with their contents essentially intact are a rare commidity nowadays. The fact that this little book has been around for almost 75 years in essentially its same form for such a period is a testament both to the timelessness of the material it contains and to the expository abilities of its author.
Written by William Marshall Smart, a prominent British professor of astronomy and a prolific writer on the subject, it covers almost all aspects of positional astronomy, including the geometry of the celestial sphere, co-ordinate systems, measurement of time, precession, nutation, aberration, reduction of astronomical photographs, and even eclipses and occultations. Written in Smart's pedantic but eminently readable style, it is easily consumed in a few days or even hours by anyone with a working knowledge of college algebra, trigonometry, and elementary calculus. No other work on the subject has surpassed it for clarity and rigor. Consider that another of Smart's books, "Celestial Mechanics" (Longmans, 1953; reprinted 1960), is so revered that it now sells for several hundred dollars or more on the used book market (despite its rather common availability).
After Smart's death in 1975, revisions for "Spherical Astronomy" were undertaken by R. Green (author of a separate book on the subject) in order to keep it up-to-date with current astronomical practice, mainly in the area of accurate timekeeping in the face of the variable rate of rotation of the earth.
A classic little book whose reading (and re-reading) is like sipping a fine old Claret from the wine cellar.
The Best Textbook on Spherical Astronomy.......2003-10-05
I'm a student of astronomy, and for last 2 years I've used this book for my main reference. It covers every aspect of spherical astronomy from the very beginnings: Basic concepts in mathematics (the spherical triangle) and its formulas. And then it slowly advances to more practical topics in astronomy: the coordinate system of astronomy and its transformation from one system to another, the reduction in object's position: refraction and aberration, timekeeping system (calendar included), planetary and solar motion, calculating eclipses (lunar and solar) and occultations, and even more interesting topics: astrophotography (if you want to photograph the skies, it helps to know something about spherical astronomy). In short, this books covers all aspect of spherical astronomy and it's application. Furthermore, this book has a variety of problems at the end of each chapter, from theoretical, proofing formula, to practical. The only weakness of this book is the lack of solution for some problems. But this book is still the best. It's amazing for a book written in 1926!
"The" reference for position astronomy.......2000-03-22
If you are interested in any subject of position astronomy (motion of the moon, stellar navigation, astrometry, etc.) you must stat by reading this book. Eventhough it is basically a reviewed old text, it is still the most concise and complete reference on the area.
It contains from the basic formulas of spherical trigonometry to the full explanation of the conditions necesary to observe a solar eclipse, or principles of star parallax measurement, for example.
I think this book is useful not only for amateur and pro astronomers, but also for undergraduate mathemathicians and physicists, and even for highschoolers.
Book Description
Observing variable stars is one of the major contributions amateur astronomers make to science. There are 36,000 variable stars listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars, so it is clearly impossible for the limited number of professional observatories to target even the majority of them. That's where amateur astronomers come in - thousands of them turning their telescopes to the sky every night. Variable star observing is the most popular of "real science" activities for amateurs, and Gerry Good's book provides everything needed. The first part of the book provides a highly detailed account of the various classes of variable star, with examples, illustrations and physical descriptions. The second section covers practical aspects of observing, everything from preparation and planning, through observing techniques, to data management and reduction.
Customer Reviews:
Great book for all amateur astronomers.......2003-05-20
This is a great book for all amateur astonomers but variable star observers will be most pleased. The book covers a great amount of information such as how to observe variable stars, record observational data and report observations regarding variable stars. Also, there is a great amount of information regarding the many types of variable stars such as pulsating Mira type stars, cataclysmic variables, eclipsing binaries as well as many of the less known type variable stars such as SX Phe stars, BY Dra stars, Be stars and many, many more. The book does a very good job of covering so much information, much better than any other book available to the amateur at this time.
I would recommend this book to any amateur astronomer but I would strongly encourage any variable star observer to add this book to their library as soon as they possible could do so. This is a great book for the beginning variable star observer; you'll have more information than you can use for years.
Average customer rating:
- A fascinating account of early astronomical records
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Observations and Predictions of Eclipse Times by Early Astronomers (Archimedes)
J.M. Steele
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0792362985 |
Book Description
Eclipses have long been seen as important celestial phenomena, whether as omens affecting the future of kingdoms, or as useful astronomical events to help in deriving essential parameters for theories of the motion of the moon and sun. This is the first book to collect together all presently known records of timed eclipse observations and predictions from antiquity to the time of the invention of the telescope. In addition to cataloguing and assessing the accuracy of the various records, which come from regions as diverse as Ancient Mesopotamia, China, and Europe, the sources in which they are found are described in detail. Related questions such as what type of clocks were used to time the observations, how the eclipse predictions were made, and how these prediction schemes were derived from the available observations are also considered. The results of this investigation have important consequences for how we understand the relationship between observation and theory in early science and the role of astronomy in early cultures, and will be of interest to historians of science, astronomers, and ancient and medieval historians.
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating account of early astronomical records.......2000-08-05
A fascinating and readable account of astronomy in the ancient and mediaeval world. This book contains an detailed description of eclipse records and their place in early societies. Highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
- A comprehensive, useful, much needed book
- Timely book on an important subject
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Light Pollution
Bob Mizon
Manufacturer: Springer
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Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting
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At Day's Close: Night in Times Past
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There Once Was a Sky Full of Stars
ASIN: 1852334975 |
Book Description
Light-pollution is the modern scourge of optical astronomy. More and more observing sites are being lost as the glare of city lighting blots out the night sky. Professional astronomical observatories are located far from cities, but amateur astronomers often do not have this luxury.
This book considers the two available strategies open to astronomers - get rid of the light pollution by lobbying Authorities and Standards Organisations, and minimise its effects by using the correct instrumentation. The book contains an extensive detailed catalogue of deep-sky and other objects that - despite what one might believe - can be seen from variously light-polluted sites, for practical observers.
Customer Reviews:
A comprehensive, useful, much needed book.......2003-02-28
I recently started to research the subject of light pollution because I live in a fairly rural area that's being developed rapidly. I want to help educate and influence the policy makers and developers, if I can, to make smart choices regarding lighting as they plan their ball fields with stadium lights, their subdivisions, and their various towers.
I went online and discovered that there are more than a million web sites that address the subject of light pollution. More than a million sites! I had information overload big time and didn't know where to start.
Then I discovered Bob Mizon's book, Light Pollution. What a relief! It defines the problem of light pollution and gives us practical guidelines and step-by-step solutions to combat it. We've got to educate ourselves and others about the serious hazards of light pollution and what we can do about it. This book is a great resource for everyone's personal library. -- Kathleen Hawkins, president of winningspirit.com and author of Spirit Incorporated: How to Follow Your Spiritual Path from 9 to 5
Timely book on an important subject.......2002-02-07
Light pollution is -- or should be -- a concern of astronomers throughout the inhabited regions of the Earth. This is, to my best knowledge, the first book to directly address those concerns in detail.
The book is in three sections plus copious appendices and an index. The first section discusses the physiology of human vision, defines the nature and consequences (not only astronomical) of light pollution, and considers changes in attitude to and technology of lighting. This serves as an excellent introduction to the problem.
The second section shows how astronomy may be continued, despite light pollution, by technological 'fixes', such as light pollution reduction (LPR) filters and CCD imaging. One hundred objects suitable for visual observation from light-polluted skies are suggested and described. Techniques of observation in light-polluted skies are also suggested. It is this section of the book that is most likely to be criticised by those concerned that it may imply that, since astronomy in light-polluted skies is possible, the problem itself is not as great as activists suggest. I would suggest that it is only by showing people
what is visible in these skies that an interest in astronomy can be established and maintained, thus leading to (hopefully) a will to address the problem.
In the final section, the book discusses remedies; briefly these are technological (good lighting), legal (legislation to control poor lighting), and social (educating people as to the problem). The appendices that follow provide good material (including the debunking of common lighting myths) for anyone who wishes to involve him (or her) self in combating this source of aesthetic degradation.
Obviously, this book will be of great use as a 'handbook' for anyone involved in the activities of the Campaign for Dark Skies (CfDS) or the International Dark-sky Association (IDA), but its appeal is wider than that. It is also useful for those who undertake astronomy under brightly-lit skies, both as a guide to what may be achieved, but also with suggestions as to how such astronomers may help to have their skies improved. There is a slight UK emphasis, but the book has international appeal.
Shining through the lively style of the very well-written text is the author's passion for astronomy in general and his knowledge gained over many years as co-ordinator of the CfDS. The copious photographs, most of which are in colour, serve to enhance the text.
In short, this is a very good book, which is very readable, covering a subject of importance. Recommended!
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Transit: When Planets Cross the Sun (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)
Michael Maunder , and
Patrick Moore
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 1852336218 |
Book Description
Although transits of planets across the Sun are rare (only Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun closer than us, and so can transit the Sun's disc) amateur astronomers can observe, record and image other kinds of transit, which are very much more frequent. Transit is in two parts, the first telling the fascinating story of the early scientific expeditions to observe transits. The second part is for practical observers, and explains how to observe transits of all sorts - even transits of aircraft as they fly between the observer and the Sun!
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- A must-have
- review
- Most comprehensive coverage
- Previous reviewers say "lavish"; I say gorgeous.
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The Quest for Longitude: The Proceedings of the Longitude Symposium Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts November 4-6, 1993
Longitude Symposium (1993 Harvard University)
Manufacturer: Collection of Historical Scientific Instrumen
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Customer Reviews:
A must-have.......2002-02-19
This beautifully presented large hardback is actually a series of essays covering the story of the search for Longitude from the 16th century to the 19th. The essays deal with a range of subjects from the mathematical to the absurd, from astronomy to cartography and has 4 excellent appendices. The book is well laid out with both black&white and color photography in a manner that means you don't need to be a student of the sea of chronology to understand it. A good book to have on the shelf.
review.......2002-01-18
Excellent book focused on the Longitude act's of the 1700's. The primary emphasis is on the two technologies Lunar-distance and chonometer for determining longitude with a precision under 1 degree. The relative percentages are: 50% chonometer, 30% lunar distance, 10% Jupiter's moons, 10% general history pre-1600's. I gave it four stars instead of 5 because I thought the book was going to be a balanced discussion ( i.e. equal time)encompassing all methods of determining longitude irrespective of a 1 degree precision. All that said, I would still recommend the book to anyone interested in the topic.
Most comprehensive coverage.......2000-07-26
This review is top notch and comprehensive. It's the book of choice to cover the background and the technology. I'm not a watch or clock fanatic, but I slam dunked this whole book in just a couple days; a 15 hour Qantas flight kept me captive. I wish there was more discussion on the nature of astronomy and how the clocks were calibrated. I want to read up on octants, sextants and basic navigation now. This book deserves five stars. The A&E four hour documentary, "Longitude", this month also deserves high marks. If someone knows of a good read on navigating with astronomy that's more layman oriented, please email me (thanks).
Previous reviewers say "lavish"; I say gorgeous........1998-05-09
This book considers the problem of longitude from a number of viewpoints. While Dava Sobel's book concentrated on the Harrison/Maskelyne controversy, this volume uses historical, mathematical and geographic viewpoints. What is impressive is the genius, dedication and tenacity of the Renaissance scientists. They may not have had GPS but they knew what they were doing.
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