Longitude
Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest. It is the story of one man’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 clock-making. Through this all, it opens a new window on our world.
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 found themselves 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. However, no clock had ever been able to do this — even on land.
- About the author: Dava Sobel is an American writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Her books include Longitude, about English clockmaker John Harrison, and Galileo’s Daughter, about Galileo’s daughter Maria Celeste.
