Navigational challenge from "summary" of Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
The navigational challenge of determining longitude at sea was one of the greatest obstacles facing sailors in the 18th century. Without an accurate way to measure their east-west position, ships were often lost or ran aground with disastrous consequences. The problem was particularly acute on long voyages where even a small error in navigation could lead to a ship missing its target destination by hundreds of miles. Many attempts had been made to solve the problem, but none had succeeded until John Harrison, a self-taught clockmaker, took up the challenge. Harrison believed that the key to determining longitude lay in accurately measuring time at sea. He dedicated his life to creating a timepiece that could keep precise time even in the harsh conditions of a shi...
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