Earth's Magnetism in the Age of Sail

Inbunden, Engelska, 2003

AvA. R. T. Jonkers,A. R. T. (Unviersity of Muenster) Jonkers,A R T Jonkers

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From about 1600 to 1800 scientists and mariners made increasingly sophisticated attempts to understand the earth's magnetic field and use it in navigation. Europeans had long understood the difference between magnetic and true north, but why did it vary as one traversed the sea? Could this variation be used to pinpoint longitude? Drawing on a wealth of unpublished sources-including manuals, treatises, sailing directions, and logbooks in a half-dozen languages-A. R. T. Jonkers explores these early efforts both for what they reveal about the history of science and navigation and as a unique record of the actual changes in the earth's magnetic field. The result, a masterful combination of science and history, will appeal to a broad audience of specialists as well as general readers.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2003-07-16
Mått152 x 229 x 23 mm
Vikt567 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor320
FörlagJohns Hopkins University Press
ISBN9780801871320

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Contents:List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Note on Spelling and Other Conventions List of AbbreviationsIntroduction: Merging Geomagnetism and HistoryPART I: Earth's Magnetism 1 The Earth's Magnetic Field 2 The Age of Diversity: Geomagnetism before 1600 3 The Age of Discord: Geomagnetism in the Seventeenth Century 4 The Age of Data: Geomagnetism in the Eighteenth CenturyPART II: In the Age of Sail 5 Traversing the Trackless Oceans 6 Following in Iron Arrow 7 Plotting the Third CoordinateConclusion: Quantifying Geomagnetic NavigationAppendix Chronology of Geomagnetic Hypotheses Notes Essay on Sources Index

A fascinating tale at the interface of geophysics, maritime history, and the history of science... A remarkable blend of scientific and historical scholarship. Choice 2003 This book illuminates a dark corner of history and science from a unique and well-grounded perspective. By choosing to examine the natural phenomenon of Earth's magnetism within a historical context, A. R. T. Jonkers has found a way to lend both interest and accessibility to what otherwise could be an esoteric topic. Engaging, highly readable, and well written with sound scholarship, Earth's Magnetism in the Age of Sail is a valuable and original contribution to the history of science. Dr. Gregory Good, editor of Earth Sciences History and Director of the West Virginia Cultural Resource Management Certificate Program Jonkers has provided a truly interdisciplinary study that will be accessible to scientists as well as historians. -- Kathy S. Mason History: Reviews of New Books In this ambitious work, the author sets out to rescue from obscurity the thousands of measurements of magnetic declination made by European sailors in the early modern period... The monumental contribution of information and insight brought by this study... will bear fruit well into the future. -- Jordan Kellman International Journal of Maritime History 2005