FREE PDF î BOOK Longitude The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time ½ EYLTRANSFERSERVICES

> Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

BOOK Longitude The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

FREE PDF î BOOK Longitude The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time ½ EYLTRANSFERSERVICES ✓ [PDF / Epub] ☄ Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific The dramatic human story of an epic scientific uest the search for the solution of how to calculate longitude and the unlikely triumph of an English genius 'Sobel has done the impossible and made horology sexy no mean feat' New Scientist Anyone alive in the 18th century would have known that 'the longitude problem' was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day and had been for centuries Lacking the ability I first read Longitude by Dava Sobel just after I finished high school and I devoured it in a sitting or two It was the first non fiction book I think that I really couldn't put down The true story is great legendary historical figures like Isaac Newton Galileo James Cook King George III; scientific conundrums; innovative engineering; a ransom of millions at stake; and a humble lone man competing against oppressive and manipulative big wigsBackground Latitude lines are the parallel lines that circle the globe above and below the euator and any sailor could figure out his latitude by measuring the length of the day or looking at the angle of the sun or the north star But finding one's longitude the lines that connected the north and south poles was much difficult Anyone could determine that he was on the tropic of cancer but determining how far along the tropic of cancer was a different challenge one that if solved would revolutionize navigation and save countless lives In 1714 Parliament offered a purse worth 20000 Pounds millions today to anyone who could solve the longitude problem John Harrison was a uiet hard working clockmaker who believed he had found the wayRe reading this now many of the details and events in the story remain as compelling as they were ten years ago Longitude is a tremendous tale of battling scientists and the perseverance of hard work brilliance and humility through political intrigue and greed Do I recommend it? Yes to anyone interested in history science engineering geography politics astronomy navigation clockmaking Would I teach it? Not in an English class but I'd refer to it as a great example of science writing Lasting Impression This book keeps a wonderful balance between the personal scientific and political elements of the story It's history you can escape into

EPUB í The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time ☆ Dava Sobel

Ose method or device proved successful Countless uacks weighed in with preposterous suggestions The scientific establishment throughout Europe from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its certain pursuit of a celestial answer solution Full of heroism and chicanery brilliance and the absurd LONGITUDE is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy navigation and clockmaki This book was intended for the general reader Conseuently it did not deal much with the details either of the astronomical or mechanical approaches to solving the problem of finding longitude on the high seas Instead it focused on description of John Harrison's uest to build an ocean chronometer The author treats the difficulties Harrison encountered convincing the Board of Longitude of the efficacy of his devices as a matter of petty politics and egotism without offering the reader sufficient detail about the technical disputes to make any judgments about the scientific debate at the center of the controversyThis book was a bit of a disappointment considering the glowing reviews it received

Dava Sobel ☆ Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time BOOK

Longitude The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His TimeTo 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 uest for a solution had occupied scientists and their patrons for the better part of two centuries when in 1714 Parliament upped the ante by offering a king's ransom GBP20000 to anyone wh Longitude is a remarkable achievement The recipe for sales success in international book sales rarely contains such unpromising ingredients as these – an obsessive carpenter’s son from Yorkshire an intractable navigational problem and a lot of clocks Yet Longitude succeeds in weaving a narrative full of clashing of ideas intriguing personalities bizarre anecdotes and at its heart a tale of the little guy challenging the EstablishmentThe story is one that has long been familiar to both naval historians and lovers of clocks two introspective groups who had failed to bring it to a wider public Enter Dava Sorbel with a journalist’s nose for a good story and the flare to tell it well This is a page turner that makes what could be a mire of mechanical and mathematical detail simple easy to follow and enjoy by anyone whether they are confirmed landlubbers or have a previous interest in the seaFrom a purest point of view the book does have its faults Sorbel’s understandable desire to tease a cracking yarn from the history leads her to be partial in choosing her facts She is unfairly hard on the HalleyMaskylene method of calculating longitude for example which worked too and had the big advantage of only reuiring euipment that already exist onboard ships a good compass a sextant and a trained navigator It is small wonder that an unproven machine full of cogs and springs was viewed with suspicion It is also only with hindsight that it is clear the marine chronometers was the right solution The copy of H4 that Cook used on his second voyage cost £450 and took a skilled watch maker several years to make To give an indication of cost building a frigate at the time cost about £14K Given each ship would need several chronometers to check against each other at the time of Harrison’s death it was still not a practical solution for most vessels It was those that came after Harrison especially Thomas Earnshaw who perfected and then mass produced reliable chronometersBut that is the grumpy naval historian part of me speaking The author of popular naval fiction part can only applaud a wonderful book