NavList:

Coralline Algae wrote-

"As part of my plan to immerse myself in the time of kepler, newton
with respect to navigation and other things.  I have been researching
mechanical watches and chronometers. "

Well, Kepler's (and Tycho's before him) great misfortune was that they
lived before the era of accurate clocks. Otherwise, their observations
could have been much more precise. Instead, they had to resort to
complex stratagems to deduce time, such as by the altitudes of
celestial bodies: the same set of bodies for which they was trying to
determine the positions.

As for Newton, though he lived in the period in which pendulum clocks
and balance-spring watches were being developed, a practical seagoing
timepiece did not emerge until 50 years after his death.

Nevertheless, Coralline Algae's aim is a noble one.

I wonder if the purchase of a secondhand marine chronometer, in a
gimballed box, has been considered? Thousands of these instruments
were in use at sea, often in sets-of-three. They may seem expensive
now, usually sold as "antiques", but nothing compared with the outlay
of $1500 that is being contemplated. That would seem more in keeping
with the research intention, than an expensive Russian tick-tock. The
main problem might be to find a craftsman to put the instrument in
proper order, which might well call for no more than knowing where
(and where not) to apply a tiny drop of oil. And keeping it out of the
hands of those that don't know.

Not that I claim to have any special knowledge about marine
chronometers. Geoffrey Kolbe's advice is sound.

George.

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.


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