000			01182nam a2200205 4500
010			_a95017402
020			_a9780140258790
024			_a35738057
050			_aQB225
082			_a526.6209
100	1		_aDava Sobel
245	1		_aLongitude
260			_bPenguin Books
300			_a192 pages
520			_aDuring the great ages of exploration, "the longitude problem" was the gravest of all scientific challenges. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Ships ran aground on rocky shores; those traveling well-known routes were easy prey to pirates.In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....
521			_a1310
650			_aPhysical Sciences
650			_aMathematics
999			_c517 _d517