Longitude, [the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time], Dava Sobel
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Longitude, [the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time], Dava Sobel
Language
eng
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not applicable
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history
Main title
Longitude
Oclc number
62592019
Responsibility statement
Dava Sobel
Sub title
[the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time]
Summary
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. The scientific establishment of Europe--from Galileo to Sir Issac 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 a dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and 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
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