Earth's magnetism in the age of sail / A.R.T. Jonkers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jonkers, A. R. T., 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geomagnetism--History.

Geomagnetism.

Compass--History.

Compass.

Navigation--History.

Navigation.

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 300 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

Summary:

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 the 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 Drawing on a wealth of unpublished sources -- including manuals, treatises, sailing directions, and logbooks in a half-dozen languages -- A. R. T. Jonkers explores these early efforts both for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.

Contents:

Introduction: Merging Geomagnetism and History 1

Part I Earth's Magnetism

1 The Earth's Magnetic Field 13

2 The Age of Diversity: Geomagnetism before 1600 28

3 The Age of Discord: Geomagnetism in the Seventeenth Century 65

4 The Age of Data: Geomagnetism in the Eighteenth Century 102

Part II In the Age of Sail

5 Traversing the Trackless Oceans 131

6 Following the Iron Arrow 147

7 Plotting the Third Coordinate 177

Conclusion: Quantifying Geomagnetic Navigation 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [285]-291) and index.

ISBN:

0801871328

OCLC:

49553654