Ships, Clocks, and Stars

Ships, Clocks, and Stars PDF Author: Richard Dunn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780007940523
Category : Discoveries in science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description

Ships, Clocks, and Stars

Ships, Clocks, and Stars PDF Author: Richard Dunn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780007940523
Category : Discoveries in science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description


Ships, Clocks, and Stars

Ships, Clocks, and Stars PDF Author: Richard Dunn
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062357174
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 601

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Finding Longitude

Finding Longitude PDF Author: Richard Dunn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780007525867
Category : Longitude
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Clocks in the Sky

Clocks in the Sky PDF Author: Geoff McNamara
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 038776562X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Get Book Here

Book Description
Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars, the collapsed cores of once massive stars that ended their lives as supernova explosions. In this book, Geoff McNamara explores the history, subsequent discovery and contemporary research into pulsar astronomy. The story of pulsars is brought right up to date with the announcement in 2006 of a new breed of pulsar, Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs), which emit short bursts of radio signals separated by long pauses. These may outnumber conventional radio pulsars by a ratio of four to one. Geoff McNamara ends by pointing out that, despite the enormous success of pulsar research in the second half of the twentieth century, the real discoveries are yet to be made including, perhaps, the detection of the hypothetical pulsar black hole binary system by the proposed Square Kilometre Array - the largest single radio telescope in the world.

Chelsea Clock Company

Chelsea Clock Company PDF Author: Andrew Demeter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780972511100
Category : Clock and watch makers
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Get Book Here

Book Description
Second Edition Company History, Model Identification Guide, Serial Number Index

Finding Longitude: How ships, clocks and stars helped solve the longitude problem

Finding Longitude: How ships, clocks and stars helped solve the longitude problem PDF Author: National Maritime Museum
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007525877
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 601

Get Book Here

Book Description
Recommended for viewing on colour device. Official publication of the National Maritime Museum's “Ships, Clocks and Stars” exhibition.

Longitude

Longitude PDF Author: Dava Sobel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0802779433
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Mystery, Novelty, and Fantasy Clocks

Mystery, Novelty, and Fantasy Clocks PDF Author: Derek Roberts
Publisher: Schiffer Book for Collectors
ISBN: 9780764308734
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Over 300 clocks, for buildings or tabletops, which do far more than tell time, are presented with concise historical explanations, detailed drawings, and clear color photography. 700 years of clocks are studied, clocks that display magical acts, appear to require no power to drive them, or have no apparent connection between the movement and the hands. These mystery clocks are fascinating mechanisms.

French Bronze Clocks, 1700-1830

French Bronze Clocks, 1700-1830 PDF Author: Elke Niehüser
Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited
ISBN: 9780764309434
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Get Book Here

Book Description
Beautiful gold and bronze pendulum clocks not only tell time but also depict sculptures of Greek and Roman mythology, American Indians, and African figures. The symbolism of the figures is explained to reflect nearly-lost allegories that were well known 150 years ago. Over 200 color and many black and white photos display these fabulous clocks. An important additional feature is a visual directory of 1365 bronze clocks with bibliographic references that will hertofore make researching the field much more efficient.

Clocks and More Clocks

Clocks and More Clocks PDF Author: Pat Hutchins
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1481410725
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Get Book Here

Book Description
When the hall clock reads twenty minutes past four, the attic clock reads twenty-three minutes past four, the kitchen clock reads twenty-five minutes past four, and the bedroom clock reads twenty-six minutes past four, what should Mr. Higgins do? He can't tell which of his clocks tells the right time. He is in for a real surprise when the Clockmaker shows him that they are all correct!