NOVA: Lost at Sea - The Search for Longitude
by nova
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DVD details
Actor: Richard DreyfussDirector: nova
Brand: Wgbh Wholesale
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 54 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-01-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
Product features:
- Before global positioning systems and modern map making, the concept of longitude was just a dream. Without its guidance, navigation in the 1700s was both unpredictable and deadly until one man solved the mystery. Richard Dreyfuss narrates this dramatic recreation of longitude's difficult birth, and the remarkable history-making life of a country carpenter named John Harrison. Go back in time
DVD Reviews of NOVA: Lost at Sea - The Search for Longitude
DVD Review: John Harrison, Father of Longitude
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems to be trivial to know where you are, especially when the era of GPS (global positioning system) starts in 1995. It is, however, a challenge to know this at sea in the 1700s. Although one can tell the latitude by measuring the angle of the sun at noon, there is no practical way to know the longitude at that time. This makes navigation unreliable and deadly.
Most people, including Isaac Newton, think this problem must be solved by astronomers, or professors in famous universities by measuring the stars or the moon. It is John Harrison, an unschooled carpenter and watchmaker from the country, to get this job done and win the 20,000 pounds (millions in today's dollars) by his custom-made clock.
The key to know where you are is to know what time it is. This is still the principle that GPS works today. The clocks in GPS are atomic. However, the clocks then are mechanic and are very difficult, if not impossible, to maintain its precision at sea due to the shaking of a ship. In addition, the gravity, temperature and friction are also factors to make a clock imprecise when traveling a long distance. Finally, it took John Harrison 58 years to overcome all these and make longitude predictable at sea.
What we think straightforward may go through long struggles. What we think a reasonable and better idea may turn out impractical. It is fun to learn the above while watching this film. And it would be good if more people know about this history.
More NOVA: Lost at Sea - The Search for Longitude reviews:
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Description of NOVA: Lost at Sea - The Search for Longitude
Before global positioning systems, modern map making even before America was America the concept of longitude was just a dream. Without its guidance, navigation in the 1700s was both unpredictable and deadly...until one man solved the mystery. Richard Dreyfuss narrates this dramatic recreation of longitude s difficult birth, and the remarkable history-making life of a humble, ingenious country carpenter named John Harrison.With no formal education, Harrison used his boundless imagination to overcome a world of skepticism and best the world s greatest thinkers. Discovering that the secret to navigation lay not just in the stars, but in mastering the power of time, Harrison made longitude as predictable as the sunrise. And, although it took him 58 years, Harrison finally won £20,000 (worth millions in today s dollars) and the overdue recognition as the Father of Longitude. Now, expert insights and fascinating details reveal the measure of one man s amazing impact. Climb aboard an authentic tall ship and go back in time to see history and longitude in the making.
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