Sobel, Dava, <br/><br/>
Longitude :  the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time / 
Dava Sobel ; with an introduction by Neil Armstrong. 
 - Special anniversary edition. 
 - xviii, 183 pages :  illustrations ;  19 cm 
<br/><br/> Originally published: U.S.: Walker, 1995. 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-180) and index. 
<br/><br/> In the tercentenary year of the Longitude Act, Fourth Estate present an anniversary edition of Dana Sobel's bestselling history of an epic scientific quest and the unlikely triumph of an English genius. With an introduction by Neil Armstrong. 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 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. The quest 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 (GBP20,000) to anyone whose method or device proved successful. Countless quacks 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. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution. Full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd, 'Longitude' is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation and clockmaking. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9780007559367 0007559364 
<br/><br/><label>Nat. Bib. No.: </label>GBB3A8805  bnb 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Personal Names: </label><br/>Harrison, John, 1693-1776. <br/>Harrison, John, 1693-1776. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Clock and watch makers--England--Biography.<br/>Astronomical clocks--History.--England<br/>Horology.<br/>Astronomical instruments--History.<br/>Longitude--Research--History.<br/>Astronomical clocks.<br/>Astronomical instruments.<br/>Clock and watch makers.<br/>Horology.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Geographic Terms: </label><br/>England.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Index Terms: </label>Chronometers  History United Kingdom Harrison longitude Biography Navigation Marine Chronometer Clock and watch makers  Biography  Great Britain Longitude  Measurement  History 
<br/><br/><label>Index Terms--Genre/Form: </label><br/>Biography.<br/>Biographies.<br/>Biographies.<br/>History.