Longitude
About this book
The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--"the longitude problem." 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.
Reader Profile
4.3/5 · 148 readers · 188 pages · ≈ 3 h 29 m · Moderate
How long does it take to read Longitude?
About ≈ 3 h 29 m — 188 pages, assuming roughly 250 words per page at 225 words per minute.
How many pages is Longitude?
188 pages in its most-read edition.
What genre is Longitude?
It sits on the Science, Biography & Memoir, History shelves.
Is Longitude in the public domain?
No — it is still under copyright.
Who are the main characters in Longitude?
The main characters include John Harrison, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, Edmond Halley.
Where does Longitude take place?
It is set in Great Britain, England during Eighteenth Century.
Who wrote Longitude?
Dava Sobel.