The Search for Longitude

Paper Summary:

This paper gives a history of the invention of longitude measurement through the review of a book and a program: Dava Sobel's book "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" and the NOVA program "Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude" . It examines why it was that longitude was so difficult to measure to begin with and the different theories put forward it the time of how it could be measured.

From the Paper:

"Other inventors believed that more accurate stellar and lunar charts were the key to accurately measuring longitude. Sobel's book is in some ways the recounting of the contest not just amongst different individuals desirous of the acclaim and wealth that would accrue to the winner of the prize for discovering how to measure longitude but also a recounting of the struggle between two different ways of thinking. Both Sobel in her book and the contributors to the NOVA program (which of course includes comments by Sobel) suggest that Harrison was victorious not only because he was both smart and incredibly persistent but also because he was the most forward-thinking of those seeking to understand the technical problem of longitude. Those trying to come up with ever-more accurate stellar and lunar charts were in many ways clinging to the past: They were trying to fine-tune the ancient technology of navigating by the skies. Harrison, on the other hand, understood that any given technology can only be improved to a certain extent, and beyond that one has to develop an entirely new technology. This is what he set out to do."

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