Denny The Science of Navigation

From Dead Reckoning to GPS
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4214-0560-5
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 0 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

In today’s world of online maps and travel directions delivered wirelessly to hand-held devices, getting from place to place requires little thought from most of us—which is a good thing, since accurate navigation can be tricky. Get your bearings with Mark Denny—an expert at explaining scientific concepts in non-technical language—in this all-encompassing look at the history and science of navigation.

Denny’s tour kicks off with key facts about the earth and how its physical properties affect travel. He discusses cartography and early mapmakers, revealing fascinating tidbits such as how changes over time of the direction of true north, as well as of magnetic north, impacted navigation. Denny details the evolution of navigation from the days of coastal piloting to GPS and other modern-day technologies. He explains the scientific breakthroughs in accessible, amusing terms and provides an insightful look at their effects on societies, cultures, and human advancement. Throughout, Denny frames the long history of navigation with amazing tales of such people as Pytheas, an ancient Greek navigator, and Sir Francis Drake and of such discoveries as the magnetic compass and radio direction finding.

Whether you have an interest in orienteering and geocaching or want to know more about the critical role navigation has played in human survival and progress since ancient people learned to use lodestones, The Science of Navigation is for you. With it you’ll finally understand the why of wayfinding.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Denny, Mark

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technikgeschichte
• Technische Wissenschaften Verkehrstechnik | Transportgewerbe Verkehrstechnologie: Allgemeines

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgment
Introduction: Point of Departure
First Quadrant: Geodesy
1. Earth and Its Orbit
2. Shaping the Earth
Second Quadrant: Cartography
3. Surveying
4. Mapmaking
Third Quadrant: Early Exploration and Navigation
5. Early Explorers, Basic Tools
6. Europe Discovers the World
Fourth Quadrant: Navigation in Modern Times
7. The Age of Sail and Steam
8. The Electronic Age
Conclusion: Nature's Navigators
Technical Appendix
Annotated Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Denny, Mark
Mark Denny is a theoretical physicist who has worked in academia and industry. He is the author of numerous books, including Lights On! The Science of Power Generation, Making Sense of Weather and Climate: The Science behind the Forecasts, and Making the Most of the Anthropocene: Facing the Future.

Mark Denny is a theoretical physicist who worked in academia and industry. He is the author of a number of books for scholars, students, and general readers, most recently Gliding for Gold: The Physics of Winter Sports; Their Arrows Will Darken the Sun: The Evolution and Science of Ballistics; and Super Structures: The Science of Bridges, Buildings, Dams, and Other Feats of Engineering, all published by Johns Hopkins.