The
components and capabilities of the modern Global
Positioning System, or GPS, are intriguing: A
network of 24 GPS satellites in 12 hour orbits,
approximately 11,000 nautical miles above our planet,
broadcasting signals which include a precise time message.
Upon receiving the satellite signal, the ground unit calculates
the difference between the time the signal was sent and
the time it was received. The GPS then multiplies
that figure by the speed of light to calculate the
distance to the satellite. This process is repeated
with signals received from four separate satellites,
allowing the GPS unit to calculate precise latitude and
longitude coordinates, thus enabling the user to determine
his or her position anywhere on the planet, in any
weather, day or night.
Undoubtedly,
global Positioning is a modern day marvel; but
perhaps it is an even greater marvel that navigators were
able to set course and reach their destination before the advent
of present day navigational systems. Although we
could investigate the various nuances of Global
Positioning, such as Satellite Positioning, Precision
Timing, and Error Correction, let's not! We're in
the Trivia Zone, and that realm compels us to
move, instead, in a different direction: How about
backwards?! Yes, let's go back in time, when modern
gadgets were not available to explorers.
Where
would we be without Nathaniel Bowditch? The very
same fellow responsible for the "Bowditch", or
navigational text that Melville makes mention of in Moby
Dick. Nathaniel Bowditch was not satisfied with the
navigational devices that were available: The
Astrolabe, the Chronometer, the Octant, and the Sextant.
He realized that with these devices, accuracy was lost
through limitations of the devices, mathematical error and
the like. In addition, Bowditch studied the lunar
tables of the John Moore New Practical Navigator, which
was the popular treatise of the time. He recognized
that the tables contained serious errors, which could cost
lives and loss of cargo. In response to his
findings, he decided to publish his own tables, which
included instructions for calculating the location and
direction of a ship's course, and maintaining and using
navigating equipment. In 1802, Nathaniel Bowditch's
New American Practical Navigator was released. The
Bowditch Navigator was immediately adopted as standard
equipment on voyages of all lengths, and today, 200 years
later, it is still standard text in merchant marine and
naval academies. Not bad . . .not bad at all, for a
fellow that left school at age ten to help out his
struggling family, but then, not a surprising
accomplishment for someone who taught himself Latin and
French, mastering the languages at age 17. Why
Latin and French, you ask? Nathaniel was
desperate to read the scientific works of Isaac Newton,
and others, which were mostly printed in those languages.
It was Nathaniel who discovered an error in Newton's
Principia!
Where,
indeed, would we be without Nathaniel Bowditch?
We'll never know how many lives and cargoes were spared
because of one human's contributions. And, although
modern day navigational systems are awe-inspiring, take
time to remember your trip back through time in the Trivia
Zone to the past and present-day marvel of Nathaniel
Bowditch.
Friends
In Thought,
Roberta
L. Beauchamp
______________________________________
The
Sweepstakes - Roberta has again taken us into
another dimension for your benefit. You've heard of many
of Henry Ford's products, but did you know he was involved with
the Sweepstakes? If not, please read on . . .
Think
"Henry Ford" and what pops into mind?
Quadricycle, Model T, Model A, even Assembly Line?
Well, how about Sweepstakes? What might this word
association called Sweepstakes be, you ask? Step, now,
inside the Trivia Zone to investigate Sweepstakes: A
significant yet often overlooked marker in history.
