NavList:

Here's a useful source of historical material, freely available for
downloading, but only until December 2006, when it will become
pay-for.

All the publications of the Royal Society, which include important
papers about early instruments and navigational techniques from 1665,
are available in PDF form, and can be printed out in whole or in part.

Go to-
www.journals.royalsoc.ac.uk

which should display a list of their journals. For their oldest
material, for example, click on-

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 1665 - 1886.

Then choose a search term to type in the box.

I was interested in the original Hadley paper about his quadrant (or
octant) of 1731, so typed in Hadley as a search term.

Altogether 17 publications by Hadley were listed, of which I chose No.
5, "The description of a new instrument for taking angles. by John
Hadley .... communicated to the Society on May 13, 1731".

I was informed there would be a two-and-a-bit Megabyte download for a
PDF file, but actually it turned out to be four-and-a bit, so about 10
minutes or so download time, as I'm on dialup, not broadband.

The downloaded file, 16 pages altogether, was beautifully clear,
including the diagrams. You couldn't ask for anything better. It can
be printed out, as selected pages, or as the whole article, which I
chose.

There's a rich vein of stuff to mine, here, for those with a hisorical
bent. But only until December.

George Huxtable.

contact George Huxtable at george@huxtable.u-net.com
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.


--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com
To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---