How Mechanical Marine Chronometers Solved Longitude
In short: John Harrison's mechanical innovations, including bimetallic strips and anti-friction devices, provided the precision needed to solve the longitude problem and save lives at sea.
A 1:41 short film in the series “90 Seconds of History”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Royal Museums Greenwich, “H1 | Royal Museums Greenwich”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “John Harrison's marine timekeepers”; Dartmouth College, “Harrison, Others, and the Shifting Materiality of Chronometers – Instruments that structured the narratives of pre-modern voyages”; worldhistory.org, “Harrison's Marine Chronometer”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Longitude_Act_3.pdf”; Science Museum, “Where in the world? The mathematics of navigation | Science Museum”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Longitude found - the story of Harrison's timekeepers”.
Sources used in this film
- Royal Museums Greenwich — H1 | Royal Museums Greenwich · View →
- Royal Museums Greenwich — John Harrison's marine timekeepers · View →
- Dartmouth College — Harrison, Others, and the Shifting Materiality of Chronometers – Instruments that structured the narratives of pre-modern voyages · View →
- worldhistory.org — Harrison's Marine Chronometer · View →
- Royal Museums Greenwich — Longitude_Act_3.pdf · View →
- Science Museum — Where in the world? The mathematics of navigation | Science Museum · View →
- Royal Museums Greenwich — Longitude found - the story of Harrison's timekeepers · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Royal Museums Greenwich: H1 | Royal Museums Greenwich
- Also: Royal Museums Greenwich: John Harrison's marine timekeepers
- Also: Dartmouth College: Harrison, Others, and the Shifting Materiality of Chronometers – Instruments that structured the narratives of pre-modern voyages
- Also: worldhistory.org: Harrison's Marine Chronometer
- Also: Royal Museums Greenwich: Longitude_Act_3.pdf
- Also: Science Museum: Where in the world? The mathematics of navigation | Science Museum
- Also: Longitude found - the story of Harrison's timekeepers
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