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Longitude
A vexing problem, a golden fleece Specifically, from the age of around 30 (though Sobel points out that the time of his birth is only known within a few years), Harrison devised a series of time-keeping devices designed to keep time with accuracy orders of magnitude more accurate than the water, spring and pendulum-driven clocks of the day. The ferocity and diligence with which he wore down the technical gremlins conspiring to throw clocks off by seconds or minutes a day demonstrates a personal dedication as intense as those of the Las Alamos scientists laboring to forge the atomic bomb. Like those men, Harrison had something else in mind besides the joy of invention -- he was determined to win a prize which in modern money would mean millions of dollars, not to mention the prestige of royal recognition.
That prize (in the amount of 20,000 pounds) was set forth in a 1714 act of Parliament for anyone who could provide a practical method for ships at sea to determine their latitude to within half a degree.
With a clear sky and a sextant, finding latitude is relatively easy. Once it was widely accepted that the earth was a globe spinning about an axis perpindicular to the equator, the rest was (to our modern viewpoint) a piece of cake: locate a star (Polaris, at least in the Northern Hemisphere) which approximates an extension of that axis of spin, note the apparent angle from an observer's horizon, and perform some simple trigonometry. The problem with finding longitude is that no such simple trick exists.
By constructing elaborate star charts which correlate observed lunar and stellar positions, it was hypothesized (and eventually demonstrated in practice) that longitude could be determined using a complicated process of observing the sky (only at night, and only on a clear enough night to observe, of course), then comparing the stellar observations with a log of previous observations compiled by astronomers over a lunar-orbit cycle of 18 years. Though cumbersome, the amazine thing is that enough observations were compiled for this method of longitude determination to not only catch on, but for the charts to remain in continuous repair and revision until 1907. So desperate were navigators of the time to know where on the globe they sailed, even this tricky means was better than none at all.
Earthly contention A deftly-woven substory -- and perhaps really the main story -- is of the rivalry between the astronomers and the clockmakers, both in general and specifically in the case of Harrison and the man who turns out to be in parts both his competitor and his his judge, astronomer Nevil Maskelyne. For the early years of the race for a longitude method, the star-watchers held favor, as their methods were seen as purer and more reliable than those of the craftsmen whose tiny mechanisms were subject to mishandling as well as corrosion and other seagoing inevitabilities. Of all the entrants in this high-stakes race, Maske and Harrison represented probably the best (or at least the best-positioned) of each camp, so their struggles and the eventual outcome are particularly significant.
The culmination of Harrison's work came after 4 generations of refinement, a pocket-sized device, the appearance of which is at once antique and surprisingly modern. And (what should come no surprise), the Harrison chronometer keep startlingly accurate time -- good enough to comfortably meet the requirements of sought-after practicable longitude system. For reasons that make the book worth reading, collecting on that prize was anything but simple.
Reactions: As I read this book on the subway, I found myself nodding and grinning, and at times frowning obediently at the evil-landlord melodrama of Harrison vs. Maskelyne. The story of the unschooled inventor toppling the expectations and machinations of a well-connected science establishment isn't just interesting -- it's positively inspiring. It's hard not to know the eventual outcome just a few pages in, but Sobel keeps the story interesting by loosing the particulars slowly, revealing in turn setbacks and triumphs.
Though Sobel doesn't address this issue explicitly, the magnitude of the longitude prize and the thoroughly bureaucratic, arbitrary behavior of at least some of its keepers also raise the issue of state-funded science in general, and made me think of the moon race, mass immunizations and and everyone's favorite giant global network, no matter who invented it.
Longitude is also interesting for what it says about the transfer of information and ideas (if not technolgy itself) which went on in the time before today's Information Age.
Some more praise dressed up as complaint: The only gripe I have with this book is hardly fair, given it's brevity. But here it is: a few pages of illustrations and more detailed annotations (even an associated Web site) would make the book as much a starting point as a destination. While the reader-friendly avoidance of picayune detail is probably a wise compromise -- I know I appreciated it!, I do wish the book had a few pages at least of additional technical information. The glossy illustrations on and inside the front cover are some consolation at least, since they're good photographs (if small) on a nice glossy surface. That such an ommision is noticeable speaks well of this book -- most books leave me wishing they were shorter, not longer.You can order this book from ThinkGeek.
There's been a show on this (maybe a Nova episode) on PBS that I've caught the tail end of a couple of times. Pretty good, although I'm sure the book, while short, has more details.
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There are some interesting parallels to today. I shall try and remember this the next time I tell someone that their idea can't possibly work, or that computers will never be able to
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E_NOSIG
Isn't this review a bit old? I read the book ages ago (at least a year I think)...
Anyway. It's a very interesting book, if a little short. Get a copy and have a look, quite interesting to read about a true innovator tirelessly pursuing his dream, even though the authorities at the time do pretty much everything they can to stop him (various reasons, mostly political).
At least I started to see it but it was soo damn dull i couldnea take it.
For A more poetic take on the problem of longuitude, Try reading the "Island of the day before" by Umberto (The Name of the Rose) Eco.
It was a great book, based on a great epsiode of NOVA.
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I'm a bit confused by this analogy. How are the religious beliefs of an inventor assoiciated to their field of expertise? Is religion a significant theme in the book? It just strikes me as a bit of an odd way to open the review of a book about the father of the chronometer...
Nit: "Catholic" is capitalized.
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Obliteracy: Words with explosions
I recomend this one.
The Cure of the ills of Democracy is more Democracy.
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Harrision only did research in one field, not many, therefore he was not "catholic". Whether or not he was (Roman) Catholic is besides the point.
"What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death."
A&E did a big production of the book that was pretty good. You can order VHS or DVD direct from A&E's web site.
It showed a lot of the old mechanisms that were very cool. The early models were huge, which big ol' stabilization systems. You don't realize how hard the problem was until you see him go through all the early trials of trying to keep a clock accurate on a ship that is bobbing up and down and weaving all over the place.
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Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Biographies like this one are stories of the true nerd. The guys who could hack before free information was readily available are the true masters. In this day and age, it's so simple to become a "geek" that "geekdom" is hardly anything special. It's just too easy.
You can tell a college man, but you can't tell him much.
The word "catholic" means universal. In this case, I believe he means that these inventors made advancements in a number of fields. The word "Catholic," of course, refers to a religion.
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Without books, we'd all be a bunch of rednecks chasing our cousins around the outhouse.
You can tell a college man, but you can't tell him much.
Actually, no it isn't. To quote from Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:
catholic 1: Comprehensive; Universal; broad in sympathies, tastes or interests
For once, a Slashdot editor does something literate and he gets flamed for it by those who miss it. BTW - I'm replying to your post because your the only one who obthered to log in. Why waste time replying to AC's.
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I believe that what was solved was the greatest engineering problem of the time, not scientific. Everyone knew that you needed an accurate timepiece, it was just that no one knew how to build one that worked on a ship.
Wow - I had no idea the guy who wrote and directed the Sci-Fi Channel's Dune miniseries was such an important guy.
You can read more about John Harrison here.
Anyhow, to make a long story short, I found it interesting that the British government required him to explain the workings of H4 to a panel of scientists (etc) in order to pass the knowledge of how it worked on to the public.
The article I've quoted mentions that his endowment made him the first recepient of a government research grant -- and the government had the sense to make sure he published the inner workings before paying him.
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This book is pretty much a waste of time if you know anything about the longitude prize - it contains little more than the kind of stories grandparents tell little children (i.e. little to no actual research or analysis, a nice glossy surface sheen on anything that might be related to scary subjects like physics and mechanical engineering, etc). If you don't know anything about the prize, I guess it's worth the hour or so it takes to read, but there are far better books to be read on the subject. The Quest for Longitude : The Proceedings of the Longitude Symposium is one of them, and the name of the other esacpes me...
Longitude was a great read, and I thought it was wonderful that a book essentially about engineering was so widely read. The book was inspired by the "Longitude Symposium" held in 1993. That symposium has to get the award for the snazziest proceedings ever: (they came out a couple years after the book) The Quest for Longitude : The Proceedings of the Longitude Symposium Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts November 4-6, 1993. William J. H. Andrewes (Editor). You can see some pictures of Harrison's machines at Britain's National Maritime Museum , but Dava Sobel is a much better storyteller, so you'll enjoy reading Longitude more if you avoid reading the text at the museum site. On the other hand, the story of Rupert Gould, who restored Harrison's clocks, isn't told in Sobel's book. It was told in an awful soapumentary on cable this fall, but four hours was far far too long.
The Illustated Version of Longitude
"enriched with 178 lavish illustrations--including portraits, maps and scientific illustrations--complete with expansive, elegant captions that illuminate and expand upon the captivating story." Also available for a tad cheaper at amazon, i.e. shop around.
So basically, if we weren't so focused on cross promotion with thinkgeek, the one major criticism is moot ey?
arrrtttttttthhuuuuuuurrrrr
sell your certainty and buy bewilderment
What impressed me even more was that I believe he was the first person to use the word "loosing" on this site without it being a typo or misnomer. :)
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I'd like to see a resource on self-taught inventors/scientists. To me this is much more interesting than longitude.
(Score:2 Off topic) And speaking of inventions, this is the coolest I've seen in a while - sawstop.
Now that deserves a patent.
Another great invention by somebody that is self- taught is...
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and not French or Belgium or anything.
The invention of the chronometer helped the British rule the sea, and estable colonies all over the world, thus indoctrinating the natives in decnt British ways.
Thus, when the colonies became independent, they became decent, productive countries, like India, Australia, South Africa, and yes, the United States and Canada.
Contrast this with former colonies of France of Belgium, they're generally still roouted in savagery and firmly mired in the third world. The Congo, Cambodia, Algeria.
I'm afraid it is you who is the is shithead. Take a look at a thesarus (you do know what what is?). The word catholic means wide-ranging or general. In this context it has absolutely nothing to do with religion.
If you're playing your records backwards, you ARE Satan - Bill Hicks
There is an illustrated version of Longitude with 110 color and 73 b&w illustrations. Highly recommended.
Check out this link:
The Illustrated Longitude.
The Moderators Have Been Trolled
For a more fanciful take on the importance of longitude, check out Umberto Eco's somewhat meandering but very engaging Island of the Day Before.
Like most Eco novels, it's a little on the huge side, which can be mitigated somewhat by getting the book on tape, delightfully read by Tim Curry.
Nice antithesis (the book for the illiterate bit). Kinda like saying internet for the unwired, or digital cable for those without television sets. P.S. This is not meant as a flame, just saying it's a good use of a literary device.
Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
There's an illustrated version of the book which I wish they would've put out in the first place. The illustrated version, I believe, came out around the same the TV version featured on Nova, a pretty good little cross-marketing effort.
It's good. I highly recommend it.
There is an excellent exhibit of time and Harrison's work, including several of the clocks at different stages in evolution, at the Royal Observatory in Greenwhich, England. If you think his work is impressive from reading the book, you should see some of his contraptions in person!
The news is this fellow's review of the book, doesn't matter whether the book is new or not.
Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
Maybe it is not important for you, but it was important for Gutenberg. He was devout Roman Catholic to the point, that telling otherwise about him would perhaps offend him.
His earliest prints were Psalms and parts of the he latin Vulgate Bible.
Wow, not only is my work on chronometers getting attention, but my Dune miniseries has generated several stories. Now if only all this attention would do something for my karma.
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It did matter to Gutenberg. He was printing mostly Catholic material, too. Never noticed that he was about to be put to death for it.
BTW, When was it last time that Catholics were trying to put you to death for science?
catholic (adj.) 1. Of broad or liberal scope; comprehensive. 2. Including or concerning all humankind; universal. (note that lower case 'c' in catholic makes for a different meaning than does the upper case 'C' in Catholic - Pope Paul)
Gutenberg may well have gone to confession daily but he was not a catholic inventor... he may well have been a Catholic inventor, though. catholic (adj.) 1. Of broad or liberal scope; comprehensive. 2. Including or concerning all humankind; universal. "Catholicism is regressive, catholicism is progressive": discuss... talk amongst yourselves...
The BBC produced veryy good DocuDrama about the John Harrison story. including a script of the programme. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/longitudetran s.shtml
The plaque was tactful about it, but what it basically said was that the Soviets used these monsters because they could build a vacuum chamber, and they couldn't build a quartz clock...
catholic (adj.) 1. Of broad or liberal scope; comprehensive. 2. Including or concerning all humankind; universal. lower case is much different than upper case... DOH!!! Catholic: a religion catholic: see definition above Good Lord, where do all these semi-literates come from?
I don't think Tesla was self-taught. I believe he had a degree in Physics or Mathematics. This was (partly) the source of problems between himself and Edison. When Tesla first came to the US, he worked in Edison's labs, and was treated cruelly. Edison hated people with educations, and especially hated Tesla. Of course, this hatred was later amplified because of the struggle between Tesla's AC power and Edison's DC.
Make no mistake only by reading this book can you fully understand what this man achieved.
Firstly as far as history documents he had no formal training. He built clocks that were superior by orders of magnitude. And in order to achieve this he had to invent many of the components from scratch. I'm sure many of you will be surprised to know that this guy even invented the ball bareing in an atempt to make his clocks more friction free. Only when you read the book do you really understand the impact this man has had on modern living.
Everyone previously has stated that catholic means universal. I for instance remember reciting things about being a catholic church even though we were C. of E.
However, a second meaning is the one seems more prevalent nowadays. That is "liberal". As in catholic tastes.
The two are a bit more closely related if you view them both as being not narrow-minded nor bigoted.
However, the "liberal" definition is probably the most likely in-brain translation that would take place in modern day Britain.
FP.
Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
H4 (and H1,H3,H3) can be found at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, London.
If you cannot visit, you can see a picture online:
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/searchbin/searchs.pl?exhibi t= it1740z&axis=976296806&flash=false&dev=no
The few pictures alone explain more about the sort of leap of genius that happens in the tech world than anything the words could say. Evolution versus revolution, clearly described. The only problem I had with the book was I found the ending fairly anti- climatic. The story she spends most of the time telling is sort of done about 3/4 the way through and I didn't really care about the rest.
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David Landes has written a great book, A Revolution in Time which gives a detailed history replete with enough technical details on timekeeping to make my head spin.
Harrison's work is covered there
His last chronometer keep better time than my old Accutron watch (circa 1960). Dava wrote a great book, and thanks for calling it to my attention again.
This is actually a better link than the one I've provided above:
http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/museum/harrison/index.h tm l
It interesting that few people realize importance of longitude and the impact it has history. As a sailor, I marvel that an abstract instrument can give me information that is totally unrelated and totally necessary. A watch ticking away at a fix interval can tell me where I am.
The interesting side effect is that its importance as a tool made it ubiquitous. Think of how may things rely on time. Because watches to tell time solved the longitude problem, it became an indispensable tool. Because of the demand for watches, it created volumes which sparked an industry for watches. And because it was common place people used it to solve other problems. To the point where every computer and networking device depend on time to communicate.
I think few people also realize the many modern consumer electronic were things developed for the space programs. Things developed to solve a practical problem which changes our lives.
A wonderful quick read. Its amazing how the guy invents the thing, and gets no credit until he's almost dead.
Someone you trust is one of us.
My father, a clockmaker himself, enjoyed the book enough that he immediately had me look up Dava Sobell's address via an Internet phone book, just so he could thank her for it directly. This startled me at the time, because I had no idea he knew such a thing was possible. :)
I haven't seen the A&E version yet, but it stars Jeremy Irons so it must be good. I mean, how could a movie starring Jeremy Irons be bad?
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Greets --
The Royal Greenwich Observatory is now a muesum, but the United States Naval Observatory at http://www.usno.navy.mil/ is a good resource for this kind of (modern) information...
Grins --
Carl
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This book does give Harrison the credit he deserves for inventing the first truly eternal and reliable way to determine longitude. However, when I read it I couldn't help that think that the race to claim the prize was a toss up, nontheless. If I remember correctly, even though Harrison had completed one of his incredible clocks before the astronomers finished mapping the stellar positions, he took so long to make a second clock, and then a third clock, that by the time he had really perfected the darn thing, the sextant was in wide use. Granted, Harrison's method was an easier and more reliable way to calculate longitude. Yet, his solution was so elegant, that mass production, given the time period, was almost impossible. Thus, it seemed to me that while he is certainly deserving of praise (especially because mass technology soon caught up with him), the most practical solution for the time period (even if more prone to errors) was the sextant.
The book (or at least its subject) has been made into a 1998 episode of NOVA (here is the Internet Movie Database entry; there's also a transcript on the PBS Web site), and a made-for-TV movie (starring Jeremey Irons) by A&E.
(Sorry for my previous erroneous post. There have been books made from NOVA episodes; I believe Simon Singh, author of The Code Book, adapted the 1997 episode on Fermat's Theorem into a 1998 book.)
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Then digital watches came along and blew all that out of the water. Sigh.
However, I don't see how his education enabled him to be such a visionary. I've been reading some of his writings and some of it just gives me the chills. He came up with the entire system of alternating current - not by scientific method, not by trial and error, but by envisioning how it would all work. When he first physically built the first AC motor, he had the idea all worked out in his head. The guy was a prophet, and its a shame some of his other ideas never came into being. We could be using an electrical system that transmitted electricity through the upper atmosphere and using ~90% less energy than we do today.
There was a definite spiritual quality at play in Tesla's hugely significant inventions, and that is most definitely not taught in schools.
By the way, check out the PBS special on Tesla Dec. 12.
http://www.pbs.org/tesla
I watch the sea.
I saw it on TV.
No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?
The Rev. Maskelyne, the villain of _Longitude_ (in, I believe, Sobel's own words), also makes an appearance in Pynchon's _Mason & Dixon_. Said novel includes a scene of Maskeylene's clock talking to Mason's clock, IIRC.
I just finished reading this book for my Western Civilisation class. (We also watched the Nova television show in class, but did not finish it). Great book; highly recommended. It's full of interesting plot twists not even mentioned in the review, such as the 'alliance' between John Harrison and Astronomer Royal Edmund Halley (of comet fame), and the relationship between Harrison and highly-esteemed London clockmakers.
Bullshit. It is a perfectly good word. You are illiterate, that's all.
I receied this for Xmas a few years ago, and I must heartily recommend it. The world would be a far different place were it not for the invention of the chronograph.
You can see the actual timepeices, IN OPERATION at the observatory in Greenwich. You can get there on the tube, or by taking one of the tourist boats along the river. They have all 4 of them, plus the first copies made.
They are incredibly complex. I would love to buy a set of drawings, but I doubt I could ever find the time to actually build one, there must be several thousand separate parts in the things.
We won the submarine challenge. Watch us build a coal fired steam race car December 20.
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I read this book a while ago, and was thoroughly entranced by the story. I wish I could remember more details, but the thing I remember most is this.
If you take a look at the four timepieces that Harrison built, you'll be floored by the final result. The book says something like: "However, when people see H4, they are stopped dead in their tracks."
It really is astounding. H1 looks like an early prototype. It looks as though, if you shook it, pieces would fly in all directions. H2 has the appearance of a later prototype-- much more rugged. It's starting to look like something that can be taken out to sea. H3 looks a little like H2, but with some fancier components added. H4, however, is, nothing less than a work of art. It's so completely different that you wonder what the point of the other three was.
One must have a great deal of respect for a man who, when he sees a better way, drops everything that he's been working on, and follows the new direction. Be it genius or recklessness, one must respect the way he followed his objective, as opposed to his own work.
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He was paid a "kings ransom" for the clock. (well almost, I know the details, if you don't read the book).
The King's Ransom was paid to solve a real problem that just isn't getting solved but needed to be. That 20,000 pounds (about several million dollars by todays rates) saved the British Empire millions of pounds and increased its ability to hold its growing empire.
I think the US goverment should take a lesson from this and offer a billion dollars as a prize for the things that need to be solved like cure for the common cold or aids. Right now the common cold cost the country about hundred of billions of dollars a year in lost productivity, makes about 6 billion for the drug compaines and is a major killer of older people. Offering the person (not company) that comes up with a solution to the problem a billion dollars is quite an incentive for a solution.
this review of a five year old book is front page news, but handheld phasers in two years isn't? who do you have to sleep with to get a post around here?
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
I've read the book, and I loved it. It really goes into detail, and manages to make all of it interesting even if you don't have any particular interest in seafaring. Haven't seen the TV show though.
I also found out something else about Harrison: he was a music buff. In fact, he invented his own tuning system (a variation on meantone) based on pi, which apparently approximates just-intonation (small whole number ratios between frequencies) much better than contemporary equal temperament, but never caught on because it required a few more than 12 tones per octave (and hence could not be played on a standard 7-white 5-black clavier keyboard).
A man named Charles Lucy rediscovered it when trying to find an ideal tuning for his guitar, and has developed it into a comprehensive system. Information on it can be found here.
That site also has links to a lot of resources on alternative tuning systems, a field I happen to be interested in.
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Just kidding. I daresay that "catholic" and "Catholic" are the same thing, just as "liberal" and "conservative" don't mean the same things they did 50 years ago. Besides, it's relative to the times, is it not?
The Catholic church derived its name from the word catholic, meaning universal as you said. However, the church has had 1800 years to change that into a brand nameLowmag.net
Have a look at some Advanced You're.
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