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The thorniest scientific dilemma of the eighteenth century was "the longitude problem." Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors had long been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. John Harrison devised a clock that would keep precise time at sea -- something no clock had ever been able to do on land. Dava Sobel is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Longitude and Galileo's Daughter. Tags: longitude |
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