SHARK RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC – Shark Research Institute Winter Auction
Auction Ends: Nov 26, 2023 10:00 PM EST

Books

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of H

Item Number
121
Estimated Value
21 USD
Sold
7 USD to Alterna4

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Item Description

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

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.

Paperback $21 plus S&H $4 (ships media mail and ships only to addresses in the USA)